By Riva Gold 
   -- Crude rises with OPEC in focus 
 
   -- Higher bond yields lift bank stocks 
 
   -- Eurozone PMIs due 

Global stocks mostly inched higher Friday but remained on track to end the week with losses as escalating trade frictions led investors to reassess prospects for growth.

The Stoxx Europe 600 edged up 0.3% shortly after markets opened, led by an advance in the banking sector. Bank stocks got a boost from higher government bond yields, which tend to boost lending income. Yields on 10-year Treasurys rose to 2.920% from 2.899% Thursday afternoon. Yields move inversely to prices.

The Federal Reserve also determined Thursday that the largest U.S. banks were healthy enough to withstand a severe economic downturn.

Shares of oil-and-gas companies meanwhile climbed slightly in Europe, with Brent crude oil up 1.3% at $73.97 a barrel ahead of what could be a contentious meeting of major global crude producers. Iran said late Thursday it was still opposed to a deal to lift oil output, fraying a sense of consensus among OPEC members.

Still, the broader Stoxx Europe 600 index remained on track to end the week down over 2% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was poised to lose 2.5% for the week. The Dow fell for an eighth straight session on Thursday, its longest streak of declines in more than a year.

The possibility that trade tensions could damage growth has become more real to investors this week after President Donald Trump called for a fresh round of tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods and German auto maker Daimler issued an unexpected profit warning late Wednesday saying Chinese retaliatory import duties on vehicles built in the U.S. would hurt sales and earnings.

"We're starting to see some corporate impact to some of the rhetoric coming out of Washington," said Barbara Reinhard, head of asset allocation at Voya Investment Management.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.8% Friday and 1.5% for the week as a stronger Japanese currency and concerns around the impact of trade on multinationals hit the index.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was flat Friday but down 3.3% for the week while the Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.4% Friday, paring its weekly decline to 4.4%.

In focus for many investors Friday, the eurozone is set to report data on activity in the manufacturing and services sectors to see if the slowdown at the start of the year proves temporary. The euro was last up 0.5% at $1.1660.

Eurozone nations agreed on the final elements of a plan to get Greece out of its eight-year bailout program and make its debt more manageable.

The British pound was up 0.4% at $1.3294, adding to Thursday's 0.5% gain after Bank of England officials said they expect growth to pick up in the months ahead, pushing up expectations for a possible rate increase this summer.

Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 22, 2018 03:52 ET (07:52 GMT)

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