European shares ticked higher on Friday, helped by gains among banks and Germany’s Adidas, one day after the regional index suffered its worst loss in six weeks.
The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, May 2, 2019, reports Reuters.
Investors awaited a range of data points due later in the day including euro zone producer prices for March and US non-farm payrolls for April.
The latter are forecast to show an addition of 185,000 net new jobs.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index edged 0.1 per cent higher by 0706 GMT, although it was on course to close the week down 0.5 per cent, which would be its worst weekly loss in six weeks.
Adidas led the benchmark as shares in the sportswear maker rose about 7.0 per cent after it reported a rise in quarterly net profit thanks to high-margin ecommerce even as overall sales growth slowed.
The personal and household goods sector was the top performing STOXX 600 sub-sector in early trade, with a 0.6 per cent rise.
Bank stocks rose half a percent, supported by a 1.8 per cent rise in the London-listed shares of HSBC Holdings PLC after the lender beat quarterly profit estimates, bolstered by a surge in income from its core Asian business.
Societe Generale gained 2.0 per cent as the French bank’s capital buffer was stronger than expected, helping investors look past a fall in quarterly net profit.
Basic resources stocks gained 0.6 percent as copper prices rose. London-listed Anglo American Plc tacked on 1.3 per cent as Credit Suisse upgraded the miner to “outperform” from “neutral” and raised its price target on the stock.
InterContinental Hotels fell 3.6 per cent and was the biggest drag on the travel and leisure index, which declined 0.8 per cent.
The hotel group said weakness in the Greater China region caused its quarterly room revenue to slow.
Air France-KLM slid 3.0 per cent as the Franco-Dutch group blamed higher fuel costs and tough price competition for its first-quarter loss although it said pressure would ease in the rest of the year.
Dublin’s ISEQ dipped 0.4 percent. A survey showed Irish services sector growth slowed in April as Brexit worries hit sales.
