BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The European markets ended Friday's session with modest gains. The markets climbed in early trade, but settled into a sideways pattern for the bulk of the session. Positive study results from AstraZeneca provided a boost to drug stocks, while strong results from LVMH drove shares of luxury goods companies higher.
However, the continued gains by the Euro and the British pound against the dollar kept the upside move in check Friday.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.48 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.48 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.41 percent.
The DAX of Germany climbed 0.31 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 0.88 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.65 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.34 percent.
In Paris, luxury products maker LVMH rallied 4.89 percent after it posted better-than-expected sales growth in the fourth quarter, benefiting from a steady recovery in Asian demand.
In London, online gambling operator GVC Holdings dropped 2.80 percent after it announced a provision of about €200mln in its 2017 accounts.
AstraZeneca rose 1.93 percent after the drug-maker released positive results for PT010 triple combination therapy in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Specialty baker Aryzta tumbled 8.87 percent on analysts' downgrades after a profit warning.
Givaudan fell 1.73 percent despite the perfume maker posting strong full-year results.
Eurozone monetary aggregate grew at a slower pace in December, the European Central Bank said Friday. The broad money supply M3 climbed 4.6 percent year-on-year in December, slower than the 4.9 percent increase seen in November. M3 was forecast to grow again by 4.9 percent.
French consumer confidence declined unexpectedly at the start of the year, though marginally, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed Friday. The consumer sentiment index dropped to 104 in January from 105 in December. Meanwhile, economists had expected the index to rise to 106.
France's manufacturing confidence strengthened unexpectedly in January, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed Friday. The manufacturing confidence index rose to 113 in January from 112 in December. The score was forecast to remain unchanged at 112.0.
The UK economy expanded at a slightly faster pace at the end of 2017, preliminary data from the Office for National Statistics showed Friday. Gross domestic product grew 0.5 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter, faster than the 0.4 percent logged a quarter ago. The rate was forecast to remain at 0.4 percent.
A report released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed weaker than expected U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2017. The report said real gross domestic product increased by 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the 3.2 percent growth seen in the third quarter. Economists had expected GDP to climb by 3.0 percent.
Partly reflecting another jump in orders for transportation equipment, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing a substantial increase in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of December.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders spiked by 2.9 percent in December after surging up by an upwardly revised 1.7 percent in November. Economists had expected durable goods orders to climb by 0.8 percent compared to the 1.3 percent jump that had been reported for the previous month.
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