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July 3 (Reuters) - European shares opened higher on Friday
after upbeat China data fuelled a bounce in Asian markets, but
another record surge in U.S. coronavirus cases checked overall
investor optimism.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.2% to hover
near its strongest level in three weeks, but trading volumes
were thinned by a U.S. holiday.
Technology stocks .SX8P led the gains, rising 0.8%, while
insurers .SXIP and banks .SX7P were the biggest decliners.
The benchmark index was headed for a modest weekly gain
after a batch of strong data pointed to a recovery from the
coronavirus crisis, but the United States set a new daily global
record for COVID-19 cases on Thursday, driving many U.S. states
to delay reopening plans. Germany's Delivery Hero DHER.DE jumped 4.1% after the
takeaway food company said its order growth nearly doubled in
the second quarter. UK retailer Next NXT.L fell 3.0% after Goldman Sachs
downgraded the stock to "sell", while AB Foods ABF.L slipped
1.3% after the U.S. bank downgraded its stock to "neutral".