- EssilorLuxottica gains after revenue rises
- Capgemini drops after expecting 2024 revenue to fall
- NatWest up on upbeat results, buys Metro Bank's mortgage unit
July 26 (Reuters) - European shares ticked higher on Friday, as gains in EssilorLuxottica offset declines due to a mixed batch of corporate earnings, while the benchmark was set for a modest weekly gain.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index moved 0.5% higher by 0831 GMT after hitting the lowest in more than two months in the previous session.
"In the absence of a strong negative trigger, there's positive sentiment coming through from buying the dip and expectations of monetary policy loosening," said Thomas Gehlen, senior market strategist at SG Kleinwort Hambros.
"We're in the middle of a pretty turbulent earning season and it's been proving more of a storm rather than a gentle tailwind."
EssilorLuxottica jumped 8% after the Ray-Ban maker's revenue rose 5.2% in the second quarter, supported by demand in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
Luxury stocks rose 2.2%, and were set for their best day since January, buoyed by a 4.3% gain in Hermes after the Birkin-bag maker reported a 13% rise in second-quarter sales, demonstrating the continued appetite from wealthy shoppers.
The luxury sector took a severe beating this week, dragging down the STOXX 600 as quarterly reports left investors underwhelmed.
Deepening the turmoil, European tech shares have declined 12% over the past two weeks, amid a global sell-off sparked by disappointing earnings from U.S. tech giants.
The auto sector has lost 1.8% this week after an annual outlook cut by Porsche and dour quarterly results from luxury carmakers dented sentiment.
French IT consulting group Capgemini lost 10% on Friday after saying its annual revenue will fall.
On the flip side, NatWest gained 7.3% after the British bank said it would buy Metro Bank's mortgage portfolio for 2.4 billion pounds ($3.09 billion).
($1 = 0.7772 pounds)
Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Mrigank Dhaniwala
Source: Reuters