BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks edged up in cautious trade on Friday after two sessions of losses.
Investor sentiment was underpinned after data showed Germany's industrial output unexpectedly rose for a third straight month in November, helped by a rebound in car production.
Retail sales from the euro area, U.S. jobs data for December and an expected Supreme Court's ruling on Donald Trump's trade tariffs will be in focus later in the day.
The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up by 0.4 percent to 606.45 after falling 0.2 percent on Thursday.
The German DAX was marginally higher, France's CAC 40 surged 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.3 percent.
Mining giant Glencore jumped nearly 8 percent while Rio Tinto slumped 6 percent. The companies have confirmed they are in preliminary discussions on a possible combination of some or all of their businesses, which could include an all-share merger between them.
Peer American advanced 1.6 percent after reports that its proposed merger with Canada's Teck Resources is heading for antitrust clearance ?in Europe.
Gurit Holding soared 14 percent. The Swiss supplier of advanced composite materials, engineering services, and equipment has signed a five-year core material kits supply deal worth about CHF 250 million.
J Sainsbury lost 5 percent. The U.K.'s second-largest supermarket chain reported a fall in sales at its Argos chain over the all-important Christmas quarter.
Herald Investment Trust surged 7.3 percent. To resolve ongoing tensions with activist investor Saba Capital, the company has announced plans to launch a tender offer allowing shareholders to sell up to 100 percent of their shares at close to net asset value.
Halma, a life-saving technology company, rose 1.4 percent after it agreed to acquire Italian firm Safetec Srl.
German arms maker Rheinmetall rose about 1 percent on bagging a contract worth EUR 118.5 million.
Fresenius Medal Care added 1.2 percent after announcing it will continue its share buyback program in an accelerated manner.
Dutch chip equipment ?maker ASML jumped 4 percent after TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, reported higher than expected revenue for the fourth quarter.
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