European stocks mixed; Mercedes, Remy Cointreau down as earnings disappoint
This is CNBC's live blog covering European markets.
European stock markets were mixed Friday, rounding off a largely negative week for global stocks as third-quarter earnings season has ramped up.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 has shed 1.14% in the week to date, and was down another 0.04% by 11:45 a.m. London time. Travel stocks led losses, down 0.67%.
Corporate results have proven a mixed bag, with many banks beating expectations but other sectors keeping investor sentiment wary.
Mercedes shares fell 1.1% after the German automaker reported a 64% plunge in operating profit in its core cars division, blaming "weaker macroeconomic conditions and fierce competition, mainly in Asia."
French spirits maker Remy Cointreau dipped 0.4% after slashing its sales outlook for the full year, saying it now expects a double-digit decline rather than a gradual recovery amid weakness in the U.S. and Asia-Pacific. High-end European drinks firms are being hit by higher duties on their Chinese exports, in a retaliatory move for European Union tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
British bank NatWest was 3.2% higher, breaching its highest level since 2011 earlier in the session, after it beat expectations to post sharply higher profits and raised its annual guidance.
Stock markets were mostly higher in Asia-Pacific trade Friday, though Japan's main indexes declined ahead of a general election over the weekend and the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting next week.
U.S. futures were little changed after a mixed session in which Tesla's post-earnings rally lifted the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500.
Russia's central bank raised its key interest rate to 21% from 19%, citing higher-than-forecast consumer price increases and warning of ongoing high