MW: Europe stocks pare losses on U.S. sentiment data
By Sara Sjolin
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets trimmed losses in afternoon action on Friday, after a gauge of U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly jumped in October. The University of Michigan-Thomson Reuters consumer-sentiment index rose to 83.1 in a preliminary reading, beating analysts expectations of a decline to 78. The Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP -0.20% was off 0.1% to 270.66, after trading around 270.34 before the data. France's CAC 40 index FR:PX1 -0.15% rose 0.1% to 3,416.61, while Germany's DAX 30 index DX:DAX -0.15% slipped 0.1% to 7,277.77. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index UK:UKX -0.23% fell 0.2% to 5,818.39.
