Investing.com - European stocks opened higher on Friday, after a fresh batch of corporate earnings reports and as investors eyed the release of euro zone inflation data due later in the trading session.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.27%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.46%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.36%.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) gained 0.74% and 3.24%, while Germany's Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) lost 0.48% and 1.29%.
Earlier Friday, BNP Paribas reported said net income increased 14.5% year-on-year in the third-quarter, beating analysts' expectations.
Among peripheral lenders, Unicredit (MI:CRDI) added 0.17% and Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) slipped 0.19% in Italy, while BBVA (MC:BBVA) plummeted 3.10% and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) advanced 0.69% in Spain.
BBVA earlier reported a third quarter net loss of €1.06 billion from a €601 million profit a year earlier.
Elsewhere, Anheuser-Busch InBev saw shares rally 1.21% after the Dutch brewer said core earnings that grew 9.6% year-on-year in the third quarter.
Airbus surged 3.81% after the aerospace firm reported a 12% year-on-year increase in third-quarter core earnings and announced the buyback of €1 billion of shares by mid-2016.
In London, FTSE 100 inched up 0.02%, after mixed earnings reports.
BG Group (L:BG) shares added 0.05% after the oil and gas group reported a 63% decline in earnings per share in the third quarter and said capital expenditure on a cash basis in 2015 is now expected to be around 30% lower than 2014.
At the same time, British Airways-owner IAG (L:ICAG) plunged 4.60% even after reporting better-than-expected third quarter operating profit and raising its 2015 profit guidance.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were mixed on the commodity-heavy index. Glencore (L:GLEN) and Rio Tinto (L:RIO) added 0.20% and 0.23% respectively, while Fresnillo (L:FRES) fell 0.23% and Randgold Resources (L:RRS) tumbled 1.06%.
In the financial sector, stocks were also mixed. Shares in HSBC Holdings (L:HSBA) edged up 0.10% and Lloyds Banking (L:LLOY) rose 0.28%, while Barclays (L:BARC) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (L:RBS) lost 0.72% and 1.01% respectively.
RBS earlier reported an operating loss of £842 million in the third quarter and said that litigation costs in the future could be "substantially greater" that expected.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.27% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.35% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.39% increase.