BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks struggled for direction on Friday as the United States issued a Level 4 warning, its highest, urging Americans to avoid travel to China as a wave of panic and infections increase.
The pan European Stoxx 600 was marginally higher at 415.27 after losing 1 percent in the previous session.
The German DAX and France's CAC 40 index were little changed, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped half a percent ahead of the U.K.'s departure from the European Union.
The British pound held firm after jumping on Thursday as the Bank of England confounded market expectations by not cutting interest rates.
After three and a half years of political turmoil, Britain officially ends its 40-year membership of the European Union at 11 pm today.
Electrolux tumbled 3.5 percent. The Swedish maker of brands such as Electrolux, Frigidaire and AEG warned the coronavirus outbreak in China would hit its sourcing of products and components from the country.
Spain's Banco Sabadell plunged 11 percent after the bank swung to a loss in the fourth quarter, owing to a tax payment and an extraordinary provision.
Aston Martin shares surged as much as 22 percent after a consortium led by billionaire Lawrence Stroll bought a 16.7 percent stake in the company for £182 million.
Senior Plc., a supplier to Boeing BA.N, recovered from an early plunge to trade flat after warning of lower aerospace revenue.
Financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown slumped 6.4 percent after new business growth slowed in the six months to end-December.
TalkTalk Telecom rose over 1 percent and soft drinks maker Britvic jumped more than 4 percent after unveiling their quarterly results.
Investec dropped 1.2 percent. The company said Ninety One plans to undertake an initial public offering with intention to float on the London Stock Exchange and Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
In economic news, investors shrugged off the first estimate from the statistical office Insee showing that the French economy contracted unexpectedly in the fourth quarter on weak spending and investment.
German retail sales decreased 3.3 percent sequentially in December, reversing a 1.6 percent rise in November, data from Destatis revealed. Sales were expected to drop moderately by 0.5 percent.
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