EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Eye Six-week Winning Streak

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks edged higher on Friday after the woman nominated to lead the Federal Reserve vigorously supported the U.S. central bank's bond-buying program.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.2% to 322.97, putting it on track for a sixth straight week of gains.

Shares of Vivendi SA gained 3.5% after the media and telecom firm reported late Thursday third-quarter results ahead of analyst expectations and confirmed its year-end guidance for all units.

Shares of Serco Group PLC added 1.5% after UBS lifted the outsourcing company to buy from neutral. On Thursday, the shares plunged 17% after the firm warned that adjusted operating profit for 2013 will be below market expectations.

The broader moves mirrored a global stock market rally on Thursday, which followed Janet Yellen's confirmation hearing at the Senate Banking Committee. The nominee to head the Fed defended the central bank's aggressive bond-buying program and tried to ease concerns that bubbles are forming in the equity markets. Investors welcomed her remarks, sending both the S&P 500 index (SPX) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) to record closes.

U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wall Street on Friday.

Later in the day, attention turns to the Empire State Index and industrial-production data in the U.S., which could strengthen or weaken the case for the Fed to scale back its asset purchases.

In Europe, the final reading for euro-zone consumer prices for October confirmed that the annual rate of inflation in the currency union was 0.7% in October, the lowest level since November 2009.

Fears of deflation were seen as partly behind the European Central Bank's decision to cut rates at its November meeting, which came after preliminary numbers showed inflation in October fell to its lowest level in almost four years.

Mark McFarland, global chief economist at Coutts, said inflation in the region will remain below the 2% target for some time and the ECB "needs to become more creative."

"We maintain our overweight position in European equities on the basis of valuation and policy response. We also prefer peripheral corporate and sovereign bonds over core countries' bonds," he wrote in emailed comments.

France's CAC 40 index added 0.2% to 4,292.87, while Germany's DAX 30 index rose 0.3% to 9,173.20.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index gained 0.5% to 6,695.99.

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