India, Feb. 21 -- European stocks were slightly higher on Friday, with earnings and flash PMI readings in focus.
Activity in Germany's manufacturing sector improved more-than-expected in February, while services sector activity deteriorated slightly, according to a report published by the HCOB survey.
The flash readings for France's private sector signaled the steepest downturn since September 2023.
Elsewhere, U.K. retail sales expanded at the fastest pace in eight months in January due to the rebound in food store sales volume, the Office for National Statistics said.
Retail sales volume increased 1.7 percent in January from December. The monthly growth confounded a revised fall of 0.6 percent in December.
This was the first increase ...