European Shares See Cautious Gains Ahead Of US Jobs Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks rose on Friday, tracking gains in U.S. stock futures after Apple reported better-than-expected earnings.

Investors were also watching what steps U.S. authorities might take to limit contagion from banking sector stress.

In economic releases, Eurozone retail sales fell for a second straight month in March on falling food sales, Eurostat reported.

Retail trade in the euro area declined by 1.2 percent in March compared to the previous month. Year-on-year, retail sales were down by 3.8 percent.

German factory orders posted the biggest decline since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, suggesting that manufacturing weighed on the economic activity in the first quarter.

Factory orders decreased by a more-than-expected 10.7 percent month-on-month in March, offsetting the revised 4.5 percent increase in February, data released by Destatis showed. Orders were forecast to drop moderately by 2.2 percent.

Data out of U.K. proved to be a mixed bag, with construction output rising in April while residential housebuilding suffered its steepest decline since May 2020.

The pan European STOXX 600 was up 0.3 percent at 461.55 after declining half a percent in the previous session.

The German DAX, France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 were up between 0.3 percent and 0.7 percent.

The dollar was on the back foot ahead of the U.S. jobs report due later in the day that could influence the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path.

Oil & gas giant BP Plc jumped nearly 3 percent and peer Shell added 1.6 percent as oil prices rebounded after recent string of losses on demand worries.

Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore all rose around 1.5 percent.

Intercontinental Hotels fell 2.6 percent after Keith Barr decided to step down from his role as Group CEO and from the IHG Board.

British Airways' owner IAG rallied 2.8 percent after narrowing its Q1 pre-tax loss and lifting its full year adjusted operating profit outlook.

Halma fell about 1 percent. The safety equipment maker said that it has agreed to buy Poland's Sewertronics for up to €59m (£52m).

Air France tumbled 3.2 percent after the Franco-Dutch carrier group posted an operating loss of €306 million ($338 million) for the first quarter.

German sportswear maker Adidas jumped 8 percent after posting better-than-expected first-quarter results.

SGL Carbon tumbled 4 percent after saying it expects sales to be same as that of last year in 2023.