BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks were mixed in directionless trade on Friday as investors fretted about the economic fallout from the ever-increasing coronavirus cases and looked ahead to next week's U.S. presidential election for directional cues.
The pan European Stoxx 600 was marginally higher at 341.83 after closing 0.1 percent lower on Thursday.
The German DAX slipped 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 declined 0.2 percent, while France's CAC 40 index gained 0.2 percent.
Apple suppliers AMS and Dialog Semiconductor were moving lower after Apple reported its lowest revenue in China since 2014 and didn't offer investors any guidance for the quarter ending in December due to uncertainty around the coronavirus pandemic.
Tour operator TUI AG rose 1.5 percent. The company has confirmed the signing of a further sale and leaseback or SLB agreement with BOC Aviation Limited for two new Boeing 737 MAX-8 aircraft.
Swedish auto maker Volvo Group gained 2 percent after it signed binding agreements with Japan's Isuzu Motors to form a strategic alliance within commercial vehicles.
Italian oil & gas company Eni was little changed after backing its FY20 production view.
Swiss Re rallied 2.5 percent. The reinsurance giant said its capital position is very strong and it is well-equipped to benefit from an improving market environment.
Safran, which co-produces engines for the most-sold Airbus and Boeing jets with General Electric, advanced 2.8 percent after confirming its 2020 outlook.
Air France-KLM, a Franco-Dutch airline holding company, fell 2.7 percent after it unveiled a 1.05 billion-euro ($1.24 billion) quarterly operating loss and warned of significantly lower earnings for the fourth quarter.
Building materials firm Saint-Gobain surged nearly 4 percent after improved full-year earnings forecast.
Energy giant Total SE climbed 3.5 percent after its third-quarter profit topped forecasts.
International Consolidated Airlines Group advanced 1.7 percent. There is pent up demand for travel, but it will take until at least 2023 for passenger demand to recover to 2019 levels, new chief executive Luis Gallego said.
Glencore dropped 1.2 percent after cutting its 2020 coal guidance.
In economic releases, German retail sales fell by real 2.2 percent month-on-month in September, in contrast to a 1.8 percent rise in August, official data showed. Economists had forecast a monthly decrease of 0.8 percent.
French GDP expanded 18.2 percent in the third quarter after logging a sharp 13.7 percent contraction in the second quarter, preliminary data from the statistical office Insee showed. Economists had forecast a sequential growth of 15.4 percent.
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