Investing.com - European stocks were higher on Friday, supported by some positive earnings reports and despite the release of disappointing manufacturing activity reports from the euro zone.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.29%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.55%, while Germany’s DAX 30 edged up 0.10%.
Earlier Friday, research group Markit said that Germany's preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers' index ticked down to 51.5 this month from 51.9 in June, disappointing expectations for an unchanged reading.
Germany's services PMI slipped to 53.7 in July from 53.8 in June, compared to expectations for a rise to 53.9.
Markit also said that France's preliminary manufacturing PMI fell to 49.6 this month from 50.7 in June, while the services PMI declined to 52.0 from 54.1.
Air France KLM SA (PARIS:AIRF) surged 2.50% after the airliner announced cost cuts and said that profit fell less than expected.
Financial stocks were also mostly higher, as French lenders Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) edged up 0.15% and 0.18%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) gained 0.32% and 1.02%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) rose 0.24% and 0.63% respectively. Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) underperformed on the other hand, with shares slipping 0.03% and 0.11%.
Elsewhere, BASF SE (XETRA:BASFN) plunged 3.06% after reporting earnings below analysts’ projections.
In London, FTSE 100 rose 0.33%, led by Vodafone (LONDON:VOD), up 3.70% after saying that service revenue increased more than expected.
On the downside, Aggreko (LONDON:AGGK) Plc dove 14.99% after saying it expects full-year profit to fall short of estimates.
Lonmin (LONDON:LMI) added to losses, with shares plummeting 7.16% after saying it may cut as many as 6,000 jobs.
In the financial sector, stocks were mostly lower. Shares in HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) slipped 0.13% and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) fell 0.23%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) dropped 0.43%. Barclays (LONDON:BARC) held steady, inching up just 0.01%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were mixed on the commodity-index. Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) retreated 0.86% and Antofagasta (LONDON:ANTO) tumbled 1.71%, while Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) gained 0.44% and Anglo American (LONDON:AAL) rallied 1.77%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.12% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.20% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.32% increase.