EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Look For Weekly Win As German, U.K. Shares Aim For Records

Société Générale shares fall, Renault gains

European stocks clung to modest gains Friday, with German and British blue chips trading a record highs, but a clutch of corporate earnings reports and developments limited the gain for the region's benchmark.

Share-price decliners included Société Générale SA after the French lender's fall in profit.

What markets are doing:

The Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.1% at 395.43, but the advance was held down by losses for financial, telecom, utility and oil and gas shares.

Germany's DAX 30 index rose 0.3% to 13,482.93, on course to notch a new all-time closing high. Also on track for a record was the U.K.'s FTSE 100 as it rose 0.3% to 7,576.59 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-on-course-for-fresh-record-as-pound-stutters-2017-11-03).

But France's CAC 40 was up less than 1 point at 5,511.02 while Spain's IBEX 35 dropped 1.3% to 10,321.20.

The Stoxx 600 earlier this week closed at its highest in more than two years. For the week, the index was looking at a 0.5% increase. That would be the second straight weekly rise.

What's moving markets:

Pullbacks in the euro and the pound against the dollar this week have helped bolster shares of exporters. That's because a weaker currency make products less expensive for foreign buyers and boosts earnings made overseas when converted back into euros or pounds.

The euro traded at $1.1649, down from $1.1658 late Thursday in New York. It's lost about 0.4% this week. The pound was on course for a 0.5% weekly decline, after plunging 1.4% against the greenback on Thursday, according to FactSet data, following the so-called dovish rate hike at the Bank of England.

The dollar will be in focus Friday with the 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time release of the monthly U.S. jobs report.

Read:Analysts react to historic U.K. rate rise (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/boe-delivers-a-typical-dovish-hike-analysts-react-to-historic-uk-rate-rise-2017-11-02)

Stock movers:

Schibsted ASA shares (SCHA.OS) surged 19% as the Norway-based media group posted third-quarter sales of 4.16 billion kroner ($510 million), higher than 3.79 billion kroner a year ago, and above a FactSet forecast of 4.01 billion kroner.

Société Générale SA (GLE.FR) fell 3.2%, with the French lender saying third-quarter profit fell 15% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/societe-generale-profit-dives-hit-by-low-rates-2017-11-03) to EUR932 million ($1.09 billion), hurt by low interest rates, a low-volatility environment and litigation provisions.

Vestas Wind Systems A/S shares (VWS.KO) tumbled 11% after the Republican-backed tax bill unveiled Thursday included proposed cuts in tax credits for renewable energy. In Madrid, shares of wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA dropped 4.6%.

Altice NV shares (ATC.AE) sank 10% after the telecommunications services company said adjusted full-year Ebitda may grow at the low end of its guidance range for high single-digit growth (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/altice-earnings-rise-on-strong-us-performance-2017-11-03).

TP ICAP PLC (TCAP.LN) fell 5.5% after the interbroker dealer warned of a challenging outlook for the last quarter of the year (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tp-icap-warns-on-outlook-cfo-steps-down-2017-11-03). It also said Chief Financial Officer Andrew Baddeley is stepping down from the board with immediate effect.

Renault SA (RNO.FR) popped 5.1% higher as the car maker said it bought a portion of its own shares that the French government decided to sell. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/renault-buys-10-of-own-shares-sold-by-france-2017-11-03)

Data: A reading on U.K. services-sector activity for October came in at 55.6, above the 53.3 expected in a FactSet consensus estimate.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 03, 2017 06:36 ET (10:36 GMT)