EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Nab Weekly Win As German, U.K. Gauges End At Records

Société Générale shares fall, while Renault gains

European stocks finished with modest gains Friday, as German and British benchmarks logged record highs, but a clutch of corporate earnings reports and developments limited the advance 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 0.3% to end at 396.06.

Germany's DAX 30 index rose 0.3% to close at 13,478.86, nabbing a new all-time closing high. Also scoring a record was the U.K.'s FTSE 100 as it rose 0.1% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-on-course-for-fresh-record-as-pound-stutters-2017-11-03) to end at 7,560.35.

France's CAC 40 added 0.1% to 5,517.97, while Spain's IBEX 35 dropped 1% to 10,357.80.

The Stoxx 600 earlier this week closed at its highest in more than two years. For the week, the index achieved a 0.7% increase, marking its 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 can make products less expensive for foreign buyers and boosts sales made overseas when converted back into euros or pounds.

The euro traded at $1.1605, down from $1.1658 late Thursday in New York. It's lost about 0.1% this week. The pound has suffered a 0.4% 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.

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 more than 20% 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 4.1%, 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 8.8% 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 3.6%.

Altice NV shares (ATC.AE) sank 23% after the telecom services company said a key full-year profit gauge may rise 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 6.5% 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 3.9% 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 13:32 ET (17:32 GMT)