Investing.com - European stocks opened higher on Friday, after positive German economic growth data and as investors were eyeing a fresh batch of corporate earnings reports.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 edged up 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 inched 0.01% higher, while Germany’s DAX 30 added 0.10%.
Preliminary data earlier showed that German gross domestic product rose 0.6% in the first quarter, in line with market expectations and up from a growth rate of 0.4% in the three months to December.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) rose 0.24% and 0.56%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) gained 0.26% in Germany.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) climbed 0.53% and 2.40% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) added 0.15% and 0.28%.
On the downside, Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA (SIX:CFR) dove 5.70% after the Swiss luxury goods company reported worse-than-expected results, weighed by a volatile trading environment.
Adidas (DE:ADSGN) added to losses, with shares down 1.37% after the sportswear manufacturer announced on Thursday that it sold its struggling golf operations to investment firm KPS Capital Partners for $425 million.
In London, FTSE 100 rose 0.25%, boosted by Astrazeneca (LON:AZN), whose shares surged 4.80% after the drugmaker said it is in talks with regulators to submit its cancer drug Imfinzi after announcing positive trial results for stage III lung cancer patients.
ITV (LON:ITV) added to gains, as shares rallied 1.22% as the TV station was set to host U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s first ever Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) Live Q&A session with the voting public on Monday May 15.
Financial stocks were mixed, as the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) edged up 0.08% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) gained 0.32%, while Barclays (LON:BARC) slid 0.32% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) dropped 0.69%.
Meanwhile, Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (LON:HIK) was one of the worst performers on the index for a second consecutive day, with shares down 2.40% after the Food and Drug Administration decided not to approve the company’s generic version of GlaxoSmithKline's Advair Diskus.
In the mining sector, stocks were broadly lower. Shares in Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) declined 0.64% and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) lost 0.81%, while rival company Glencore (LON:GLEN) tumbled 1.10%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.15% fall, S&P 500 futures showed a 0.22% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.19% decline.