European Stocks Inch Higher

Stocks in Europe inched higher early Friday as upbeat news from the region's banks offset a disappointing stimulus announcement from the Bank of Japan.

The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.4% in the early minutes of trading, led by the banking sector. Shares of Barclays PLC rose 4% after its results came in stronger than some had expected and the bank said it was on track to shed of one of its unwanted businesses. And shares of UBS AG rose 2.3% after the world's biggest wealth manager beat expectations for second-quarter profits. Results of the European Banking Authority's stress tests are due later Friday after markets close.

Earlier, shares in Asia mostly fell while the yen surged against the dollar after Japan's central bank said it planned to increase stock-fund purchases but left other policies unchanged, disappointing some investors who had hoped for a more aggressive easing package. The dollar was last down 1.3% against the yen at ¥ 103.3630.

In the U.S., futures pointed to a small opening loss for the S&P 500, but shares of Google Inc. parent Alphabet Inc. jumped in after-hours trading after the company said quarterly profit was up 24%. Shares of Amazon.com Inc. also rose after the company announced its third consecutive record profit.

Oil prices continued to decline, with Brent crude last trading down 0.5% at $43.03 a barrel.

Write to Riva Gold at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 29, 2016 04:05 ET (08:05 GMT)

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