Global Stocks Edge Lower

Global stocks fell slightly Friday, but European and U.S. markets were still on course for monthly gains.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was 0.2% lower, weighed down by losses in mining and energy stocks, and poised to break three days of gains.

In the U.S., futures contracts showed the S&P 500 opening 0.1% lower. Futures don't always accurately predict moves after the opening bell.

Shares in the U.S. and Europe had fallen sharply at the start of the week as a slump in Chinese equities spilled over into global markets, but have since more than recovered those losses as investors turned to corporate earnings and clues on the timing of a Federal Reserve rate increase.

The Shanghai Composite Index fell again on Friday, closing out its worst month in nearly six years. But markets elsewhere showed little reaction to the latest decline. Japan's Nikkei index rose 0.3%.

Stocks on Wall Street ended flat on Thursday after data showing the U.S. economy expanded at a slower pace than expected in the second quarter.

In Europe and the U.S., investors focused on corporate earnings.

Shares of major oil companies fell after disappointing quarterly earnings reports. Exxon Mobil Corp., the biggest U.S. oil company, reported a 52% drop in profit for its second quarter. Shares of the company fell 2% premarket.

Chevron Corp. shares fell 1.9% after it reported $2.6 billion in charges in its quarterly statement tied to lower oil prices.

Shares of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. were up 10.1%, leading premarket gainers following news of merger talks with Coke bottlers Coca-Cola Iberian Partners and Germany's Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgeträ nke AG.

Shares of Hanesbrands Inc. fell 5.7% premarket after the apparel maker posted second-quarter sales below analyst estimates.

Shares in Airbus Group climbed after the plane maker reported a rise in second-quarter profit.

French bank BNP Paribas and chemical company Arkema both rose after better-than-expected results.

Steel pipe maker Vallourec fell after reporting a loss for the first half of the year.

Among companies on the Stoxx Europe 600 that have so far reported second-quarter results, 54% have exceeded profit expectations, according to FactSet data. That compares with 50% in the first quarter.

"The earnings season in Europe has been pretty good," said Christian Stocker, an analyst at UniCredit.

Concerns over the Chinese economy are likely to remain, and could hold back shares in mining companies and car makers in the coming months, he said.

In other markets, the euro rose against the dollar to $1.1068.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was at 2.259%, compared with 2.268% Thursday.

In commodities markets, oil prices fell 1.2% to $47.92 a barrel.

Write to Tommy Stubbington at [e-mail] and Leslie Josephs at [e-mail]

Access Investor Kit for "EXXON MOBIL CORP"

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US30231G1022

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires