VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - European shares traded mostly higher on Friday as investors digest a slew of earnings reports, weak German factory orders data and await U.S. payrolls data due out later in the day.
German factory orders fell 0.7 percent in December from November, when it advanced 1.5 percent, provisional data showed. This was the first decrease in three months.
U.S. employment is expected to increase by about 188,000 jobs in January after jumping by 292,000 jobs in December. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 5.0 percent.
Coming after recent spate of weak U.S. economic data and dovish comments from Fed officials, the report holds global significance.
Oil prices held steady as a weaker dollar offset concerns over a global supply glut. The euro was up marginally against the dollar, a day after ECB President Mario Draghi said the central bank will not surrender to low inflation.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.3 percent, snapping a four-day losing streak. The benchmark index slid 0.2 percent on Thursday in the wake of mixed earnings reports and strength in the euro.
Elsewhere, the German DAX, France's CAC 40 and the FTSE 100 of the U.K. were up between 0.2 percent and 0.6 percent.
BG Group shares gained 1 percent in London. The oil & gas firm, which is being taken over by Royal Dutch Shell, reported a 22 percent fall in underlying earnings for the fourth quarter on the back of lower revenues. Royal Dutch Shell shares rose nearly 2 percent.
Shaftesbury shares rose 2 percent. The property investment company said it has enjoyed robust footfall numbers and spending during the period 1 October 2015 to 4 February 2016.
Anglo American rallied almost 10 percent, extending Thursday's rally while Antofagasta and BHP Billiton rose more than 1 percent each.
Daimler advanced nearly 2 percent in Frankfurt, a day after it reported record sales of Mercedes-Benz cars and forecast slowing growth in 2016.
BNP Paribas shares climbed 5 percent in Paris. The lender has unveiled plans to cut investment banking costs by 12 percent by 2019 after reporting sharply lower net profit for the fourth quarter.
ArcelorMittal shares slumped 6 percent in Amsterdam. The world's largest steelmaker has unveiled plans to raise $3 billion in fresh capital after reporting e net loss of almost $8.0 billion (7.1 billion euros) for 2015.
Volvo added 2 percent in Stockholm. The Swedish automaker cut its forecast for the North American market by 7 percent this year after posting a smaller-than-expected rise in four-quarter profit.
Elsewhere, Asian shares closed mostly higher, although Japanese shares succumbed to selling pressure for the fourth day amid a firmer yen on concerns about slowing U.S. economic growth and growing doubts about the pace of future rate increases at the Federal Reserve.
U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly higher open as investors await the monthly jobs report for further insights into the world's largest economy and its rate policy.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX