European Markets Finish Mostly Higher In Choppy Trading

(RTTNews) - The European markets endured a choppy trading session Friday, fluctuating between small gains and losses over the course of the day. The majority of the markets ended the session with small gains.

Bank stocks were under pressure ahead of the upcoming Italian referendum on constitutional reform. The vote is set to occur on December 4. Austria will also hold its presidential election on the same day. Investors will be watching to see if far right candidate Norbert Hofer will manage to defeat Alexander Van der Bellen.

Energy stocks also turned in a weak performance. Crude oil prices dipped at the end of the trading week, as investors turn skeptical that OPEC members will manage to come to an agreement on production cuts at their meeting next week.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.20 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone blue chip stocks increased 0.26 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.29 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed 0.09 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 0.17 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.17 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 1.06 percent.

In Frankfurt, Lufthansa rose 0.34 percent after pilots at the airline said they would extend strike action over pay until Saturday.

Commerzbank weakened by 1.74 percent and Deutsche Bank lost 0.03 percent.

In Paris, Remy Cointreau gained 3.12 percent after Berenberg upgraded its rating on the stock to "Hold" from "Sell."

In London, water utility Pennon Group advanced 0.86 percent after the company reported an 11.5 percent increase in first-half underlying pretax profit.

AstraZeneca increased 2.17 percent after an analyst upgrade.

Daily Mail and General Trust dropped 3.95 percent after Barclays downgraded its rating on the stock to "Underweight" from "Equal weight."

Actelion soared 16.77 percent in Zurich after a Bloomberg report that U.S. healthcare company Johnson & Johnson has approached the Swiss biotech firm about a potential takeover.

French consumer sentiment remained stable in November, the statistical office Insee reported Friday. The consumer confidence index held steady at 98 in November. It has remained below its long-term average of 100.

French unemployment declined in October, figures from the labor ministry revealed Thursday. The number of registered unemployed decreased 0.3 percent from prior month to 3.48 million. This was the second consecutive decline in unemployment.

Italy's retail sales declined for the third straight month in September, defying economists' expectations for an increase, preliminary figures from the statistical office Istat showed Friday. Retail sales dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent month-over-month in September, following a 0.2 percent fall in August. Meanwhile, it was forecast to rise by 0.2 percent.

Italy's industrial orders declined notably in September, after rebounding strongly in the previous month, figures from the statistical office Istat showed Friday. New orders fell a seasonally adjusted 6.8 percent month-over-month in September, reversing a 10.2 percent surge in August.

Spain's producer prices rose for the first time in more than two years in October, the statistical office INE said Friday. Producer prices climbed 0.2 percent year-on-year in October, reversing a 2 percent fall in September. This was the first increase since June 2014, when prices gained 0.3 percent.

The U.K. economy expanded as estimated on spending and foreign demand in the third quarter, but the pace of growth moderated in the wake of 'Brexit' vote.

Gross domestic product climbed 0.5 percent sequentially, slower than the 0.7 percent expansion registered in the second quarter, the second estimate from the Office for National Statistics showed Friday.

British retail sales grew at the fastest pace in more than a year during November and the momentum is set to continue next month, mainly due to robust clothing sales boosted by cold weather, results of a survey by the Confederation of British Industry showed Friday.

The survey of 126 firms showed that 42 percent of retailers reported sales growth in November on a year ago, while 16 percent said they were down, giving a balance of +26, the strongest survey balance since September 2015. Economists had forecast a balance of +11.

With imports rising and exports falling, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing that the U.S. trade deficit in goods widened much more than expected in October. The report said the goods deficit widened to $62.0 billion in October from $56.5 billion in September. The deficit had been expected to widen to $59.7 billion.