CAC 40 Struggles For Direction Before China Stimulus Briefing

(RTTNews) - French stocks struggled for direction in early trade on Friday as investors waited to see whether Beijing will deliver more fiscal stimulus at a press conference by the finance ministry on Saturday.

The benchmark CAC 40 was marginally higher at 7,545 after closing 0.2 percent lower the previous day.

China-linked luxury stocks such as Kering, Hermes International and LVMH were moving lower ahead of China's policy briefing.

The dollar drifted lower as fresh signs of U.S. labour market weakness spurred hopes for more rate cuts.

The British pound was muted after new data showed the U.K. economy expanded by 0.2 percent in August, following two months of stagnation in June and July.