European stocks stabilize after a seven-day sell-off

European stocks rose slightly on Friday, with investors snapping up shares in luxury goods and technology companies that fell sharply after a wide range of concerns, including the possibility of continued high US interest rates and a slowdown in the European economy, negatively affected sentiment this week.

The European STOXX 600 index rose 0.3 percent after recording losses for seven consecutive days on Thursday, the longest series of declines since February 2018.

The shares of French luxury goods company LVMH rose 0.8 percent after falling earlier this week due to fears of faltering Chinese economic growth.

While trading on Friday was characterized by relative stability, the STOXX 600 index is still on its way to recording weekly losses amounting to about 0.7 percent, as investors remain concerned about the possibility of Europe sliding into a recession and US interest rates remaining high.

Saipem shares rose 1.9 percent after the Italian energy services group won new marine contracts worth 850 million euros.