In focus

Auto stocks performed well as the main European manufacturers were upbeat at the Paris Motor Show.

Advancers

Porsche added 1% after it said it aimed to remain the most profitable carmaker.Elsewhere, Fiat added 1.7% and BMW gained 1.3%. German truckmaker MAN continued to benefit from the possibillity that a costly bid for Swedish rival Scania will fail, and the possibility that it may enter a three way merger deal with Scania and Volkswagen truck unit. MAN gained 1.4%, VW added 1.3%.

Man Group, the largest listed hedge fund in the world, led financial stocks higher after the British company reported strong first-half results. Its shares gained 5.8%. Shares of Spanish group Acciona gained 0.1%.

Decliners

Scania fell 0.3%. Spanish construction group ACS confirmed on Thursday night it had raised its holding in domestic utility Iberdrola to 10%, making it the biggest shareholder in the company. ACS fell 0.5%, while Iberdrola lost 2.4%. Endesa fell 0.1% and Eon fell 0.2%.

Corporate news

it was reported in the Spanish press that Jose Manuel Entrecanales, chairman of conglomerate Acciona, was trying to further block the takeover of Spanish power generator Endesa by Eon, of Germany, asking banking group Santander to buy shares in the company.

Oil and gold

Oil prices declined Friday in what was likely a correction following a rise to more than $63 a barrel a day earlier as the market reacted to reports that OPEC may cut production. Light, sweet crude oil for November delivery fell 26 cents to $62.50 a barrel in midmorning Asian electronic trading on the NYME. Brent crude futures for November on London ICE exchange were down 25 cents to $62.29 a barrel.

Gold traded in London at $601.75, down from $604.40 late Thursday. Silver opened in London at $11.50 per troy ounce, down from $11.60.

Currencies

The U.S. dollar was higher against most other major currencies in European trading Friday morning. The euro bought $1.2669, down from $1.2706 late Thursday in New York. The British pound traded at $1.8695, down from $1.8768. The greenback bought 118.00 Japanese yen, up from 117.79.