LONDON — European markets closed sharply higher Friday, clawing back from steep losses in the previous session.
European markets
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up by 1.3% provisionally, its best session in nearly three weeks.
Autos jumped 3.6% as all but one sector gained. Telecoms bucked the upward trend to fall 0.2%. All of the major bourses were positive, led by France's CAC which rose by nearly 2.2%.
U.S. stocks also rose on Friday as Wall Street attempted to snap a three-day losing streak. Fresh data showed that U.S. retail sales jumped 1.9% in September, smashing a Dow Jones estimate of 0.7%. Excluding autos, sales were up 1.5%, better than a 0.4% estimate.
Back in Europe, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would seek a no-deal Brexit unless there was a fundamental change of approach from the European Union. Sterling initially sank versus the dollar on his comments, before trading marginally higher.
Biggest movers
Thyssenkrupp shares bounced almost 11% after Britain's Liberty Steel launched a takeover bid for the German conglomerate's beleaguered steel unit.
At the other end of the European blue chip index, Getinge dropped 6% after reporting a fall in ventilator orders, despite soaring profits in the third quarter, while Galapagos shares fell 7% after both Credit Suisse and KBC Securities cut the Belgian pharmaceutical company's price target.