<p>European stocks inched up on Friday but were on track for their sharpest weekly decline since a brutal selloff in March, as a new round of coronavirus lockdowns dampened prospects for a sustained economic recovery.</p>.<p>Underwhelming response to Wall Street's big tech earnings overnight also weighed, with Europe's tech sector slipping.</p>.<p>Apple suppliers ASM International, Dialog Semiconductor and STMicroelectronics fell between 0.8% and 1.6% after the late launch of new 5G iPhones caused customers to put off buying new devices.</p>.<p>The pan-European STOXX 600 index inched up 0.1% after opening lower, set for a more than 6% weekly loss in what could be its worst such decline since an 18% plunge in mid-March.</p>.<p>Spain, one of Europe's worst Covid-19 hot spots, will be under a state of emergency until early May.</p>.<p>Germany, France and other European countries have also reimposed tight restrictions in the recent weeks to curb the spread of the virus, pushing investors to look past data that showed a strong rebound in eurozone economies in the third quarter.</p>.<p>"This week saw the return of fear, with equities selling off hard as the reality that surging virus cases and ever-tightening restrictions in Europe will knock near-term economic prospects," Barclays' European equity strategist Emmanuel Cau wrote in a note.</p>.<p>"While significant, we think the damage should be less this time around, with many businesses and, importantly, schools remaining open."</p>.<p>However, Spain's blue-chip IBEX was supported by better-than-expected earnings from lenders Banco Sabadell, BBVA and Caixabank.</p>.<p>Third-quarter earnings season has been largely supportive, with 74% of the nearly half the STOXX 600 companies that reported so far topping profit estimates, according to Refinitiv data.</p>.<p>French oil and gas producer Total rose 2.4% after it maintained its dividend despite a sharp drop in third-quarter net profit.</p>.<p>Construction materials group Saint-Gobain rose 4.2% after improved full-year earnings forecast.</p>.<p>But Air France-KLM fell 3.3% after it unveiled a 1.05 billion-euro ($1.24 billion) quarterly operating loss and warned of worse to come as a resurgent coronavirus brings new travel curbs.</p>.<p>British Airways-owner IAG rose 0.9% after it said it was driving down its cost base to survive the deepening travel slump.</p>
<p>European stocks inched up on Friday but were on track for their sharpest weekly decline since a brutal selloff in March, as a new round of coronavirus lockdowns dampened prospects for a sustained economic recovery.</p>.<p>Underwhelming response to Wall Street's big tech earnings overnight also weighed, with Europe's tech sector slipping.</p>.<p>Apple suppliers ASM International, Dialog Semiconductor and STMicroelectronics fell between 0.8% and 1.6% after the late launch of new 5G iPhones caused customers to put off buying new devices.</p>.<p>The pan-European STOXX 600 index inched up 0.1% after opening lower, set for a more than 6% weekly loss in what could be its worst such decline since an 18% plunge in mid-March.</p>.<p>Spain, one of Europe's worst Covid-19 hot spots, will be under a state of emergency until early May.</p>.<p>Germany, France and other European countries have also reimposed tight restrictions in the recent weeks to curb the spread of the virus, pushing investors to look past data that showed a strong rebound in eurozone economies in the third quarter.</p>.<p>"This week saw the return of fear, with equities selling off hard as the reality that surging virus cases and ever-tightening restrictions in Europe will knock near-term economic prospects," Barclays' European equity strategist Emmanuel Cau wrote in a note.</p>.<p>"While significant, we think the damage should be less this time around, with many businesses and, importantly, schools remaining open."</p>.<p>However, Spain's blue-chip IBEX was supported by better-than-expected earnings from lenders Banco Sabadell, BBVA and Caixabank.</p>.<p>Third-quarter earnings season has been largely supportive, with 74% of the nearly half the STOXX 600 companies that reported so far topping profit estimates, according to Refinitiv data.</p>.<p>French oil and gas producer Total rose 2.4% after it maintained its dividend despite a sharp drop in third-quarter net profit.</p>.<p>Construction materials group Saint-Gobain rose 4.2% after improved full-year earnings forecast.</p>.<p>But Air France-KLM fell 3.3% after it unveiled a 1.05 billion-euro ($1.24 billion) quarterly operating loss and warned of worse to come as a resurgent coronavirus brings new travel curbs.</p>.<p>British Airways-owner IAG rose 0.9% after it said it was driving down its cost base to survive the deepening travel slump.</p>