European stocks rise on upbeat forecasts from Pandora, Novo Nordisk

(Reuters) – European stock markets gained on Friday on rosy earnings forecasts from retailers Pandora and Zalando as well as drugmaker Novo Nordisk, with investors keeping an eye out for signs of fresh U.S. stimulus.

Danish jewellery maker Pandora jumped 10.6% and German online fashion company Zalando rose 3.7% after raising their outlook for 2020 on the back of a strong third quarter.

Danish pharma company Novo Nordisk gained 3.2% after it raised its 2020 sales and operating outlook.

The broader STOXX 600 index <.stoxx> rose 0.4% by 0713 GMT, led by miners <.sxpp> and oil companies <.sxep> as commodity prices rose. The index was on course to record its second straight week of gains. [MET/L] [O/R]

U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News that talks with Congress have restarted over further COVID-19 relief and that there was a good chance a deal could be reached. But he gave no other details about a possible agreement.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)