European stocks edge higher on earnings deluge; Burberry shows recovery

Investing.com - European stocks climbed higher Friday, tracking overnight strength on Wall Street as investors digested a series of largely positive quarterly corporate earnings. 

At 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT), the DAX index in Germany climbed 0.5%, the CAC 40 in France gained 0.6% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. rose 0.2%. 

European equities have been boosted by gains on Wall Street overnight, with the benchmark S&P 500 index closing at an all-time high on Thursday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also hit a record high.

Better-than-expected earnings from the likes of streaming giant Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), soft drinks goliath PepsCo and carrier United Airlines helped to lift the U.S. indices higher. 

In Europe, quarterly earnings have also been flooding in.

Burberry shows signs of recovery 

Burberry’s (LON:BRBY) comparable retail sales fell by a smaller-than-expected 1% in the first quarter, in early signs of a recovery for the British luxury brand struggling with underperformance.

Saab (ST:SAABb) raised its full-year organic sales growth forecast after the Swedish car manufacturer reported a 32% increase in organic sales for the second quarter of 2025.

Consumer goods firm Reckitt Benckiser (LON:RKT) has agreed to sell its Essential Home business, maker of Air Wick fresheners, to private equity firm Advent International in a deal valued at $4.8 billion including debt.

Electrolux (ST:ELUXa) returned to profit in the second quarter, reversing a hefty loss in the same period last year, with the result driven by a return to profitability in North America.

German producer prices fall 

On the economic data slate, German producer prices fell in line with expectations in June, decreasing by 1.3% on the year, the federal statistics office reported on Friday.

This followed the final release of eurozone inflation for June confirming consumer prices rose 2.0% on an annual basis, in line with the European Central Bank’s target.

With underlying inflationary pressures in the eurozone’s largest economy so limited the ECB probably has room to ease further, U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened 30% tariff on European Union imports is likely complicating the decision making.

The ECB signalled after its June meeting that it was likely to keep interest rates unchanged on July 23-24.

Crude rises on supply concerns

Oil prices rose Friday on supply concerns fueled by drone attacks on Iraqi oil fields, potentially adding to tight market fundamentals.

At 03:05 ET, Brent futures climbed 0.6% to $69.92 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.6% to $67.96 a barrel.

Four days of drone attacks on oilfields in Iraqi Kurdistan that shut down half the region’s output have supported prices.

Additionally, seasonal travel demand has propped up the market. In the first two weeks of July, global oil demand has averaged 105.2 million barrels per day (bpd), up by 600,000 bpd from a year earlier, JPMorgan analysts said in a research note.

Despite OPEC+’s higher-than-expected output hike, the world oil market may be tighter than it appears, the International Energy Agency said last week.