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Regional banks Credit Agricole and Royal Bank of Scotland have reported their latest numbers. Share jumped on the results.
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Later, U.S. nonfarm payrolls will be published at 08:30 a.m. E.T.
Stocks in Europe moved higher Friday as investors digested further corporate earnings and news that Apple AAPL 's valuation hit $1 trillion .
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.6 percent higher with almost every sector in the black supported by solid corporate results.
Tech stocks led the gains, up by 1.2 percent, benefiting from the momentum surrounding Apple. The tech giant saw its market valuation hit the $1 trillion mark on Thursday — boosting the S&P and the Nasdaq .
In other corporate news, Mondi shares rose 5 percent after first-half results — becoming the top performer across Europe in mid-morning trade. Royal Bank of Scotland RBS-GB rose 2.8 percent after reporting its latest results. The bank said it was on track to deliver its first dividend in 10 years. French lender Credit Agricole ACA-FR also saw shares jumping 2.3 percent in early trade after reporting a 6.4 percent rise in net profit.
William Hill fell to the bottom of the European benchmark, down by 7 percent. The company reported a pretax loss for the first half of the year, saying this was caused by new laws on betting terminals. William Hill also announced Friday that it is expanding into the U.S.
Data ahead
In terms of European politics, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is set to meet French President Emmanuel Macron at his official summer residence in an attempt to bolster support for her Brexit plan.
Meanwhile, sterling fell below $1.30 to an 11-day low on Friday after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said in an interview that there was an "uncomfortably high" risk of a no-Brexit deal.
Euro zone retail sales grew for a second consecutive month in June, despite a pick-up in energy prices. The Eurostat said Friday that retail sales rose 0.3 percent in June from May and 1.2 percent higher on the year. Separately, euro zone business growth fell sightly in the month of July compared to June.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls are to be published at 08:30 a.m. E.T.
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