By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Europe's benchmark stock index headed
for a third-straight week of gains on Friday, with Valeo SA
rallying after reporting earnings, and BAE Systems PLC and Rémy
Cointreau SA climbing after broker upgrades.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index added 0.3% to 335.68, setting it on
track for a 0.7% weekly advance. If the index scores a third week
of gains, it would mark the longest weekly winning streak since
November last year.
The index broke a four-day winning streak on Thursday after
disappointing Chinese manufacturing data stirred renewed concerns
about slowing growth in emerging markets. In January, China's
manufacturing purchasing managers' index also missed expectations
and partly triggered a global market rout, where emerging-market
currencies were hit especially hard.
In Friday's trade, shares of Valeo rallied 12% after the French
auto-parts maker said profit rose 18% in 2013.
Rémy Cointreau SA gained 2.2% after Barclays lifted the spirits
maker to overweight from equal weight. The analysts said it is the
drinks maker most-geared toward China and will benefit from "low
penetration rates and attractive wealth demographics" in the
country.
Shares of BAE Systems (BAESY) added 2.4% after Société Générale
lifted the aerospace and defense firm to buy from hold, according
to Dow Jones Newswires. On Thursday, the U.K. company dropped 8.3%
after posting a fall in 2013 profit.
Shares of AXA SA gained 0.8% after the insurer said full-year
profit rose, although missing market expectations.
On a relatively quiet data day in Europe, U.K. retail sales were
the main focus on the numbers front. The Office for National
Statistics said sales fell 1.5% in January from the previous month,
but the institution cautioned that the drop came after a solid rise
in December sales. Year-on-year, January retail sales picked up
4.3%, and analysts stressed that the underlying strength of the
U.K. consumer spending is broadly intact. Another factor to keep in
mind is that the January data covered an extremely wet period with
serious floods in parts of the country.
Later in the day, existing-home sales data in the U.S. for
January are likely to grab attention on their release at 3 p.m.
London time. U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Wall
Street.
In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index gained 0.2% to 6,826.83,
France's CAC 40 index rose 0.4% to 4,370.49, and Germany's DAX 30
index inched 0.1% higher to 9,631.75.
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