Europe: Mainland shares slip while weak sterling lifts UK's FTSE

[LONDON] Continental European stock markets fell on Friday, with vouchers company Edenred and airline easyJet among the worst-performers, although a new slump in sterling propped up Britain's FTSE 100.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down by 0.6 per cent. The STOXX 600 has fallen by around 7 per cent since the start of 2016.

Edenred fell 3.4 per cent after UBS cut its rating on the stock to "neutral" from "buy", while easyJet fell 3.9 per cent after broker downgrades in the wake of easyJet's profit warning on Oct 6.

However, the FTSE 100 managed to outperform by rising 0.4 per cent, with the slump in sterling seen as helping the FTSE 100's international companies, which often benefit from a weaker pound that can help exporters.

REUTERS