By Shashwat Chauhan and Jesus Calero
(Reuters) -European shares rose on Friday as firmer crude oil prices lifted energy stocks, with investors also keeping an eye on an U.S. inflation print which could be key in gauging the global monetary policy path.
The pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.2% as of 0838 GMT, after closing lower for the last three sessions.
Despite Friday's strength, the benchmark was headed for a weekly and monthly loss.
Energy gained 0.7%, tracking higher crude prices, while auto stocks were amongst top gainers with a 0.9% increase.
The U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data - the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure- is due at 1230 GMT.
"We anticipate that inflation will decrease, not just this month but over the coming months and throughout the year. It may even fall more than investors and the Fed currently expect," said James Reilly, markets economist at Capital Economics.
In the continent, French consumer prices rose 2.5% year-on-year in June, in line with expectations, as per preliminary data, while Spain's EU harmonised inflation rate fell to 3.5% in the 12 months through June.
Meanwhile, an opinion poll published in newspaper Les Echos saying far-right party National Rally (NR) further rose in its forecast and may reach as much as 37% of the popular vote, two days before the first voting round in the French parliamentary elections.
"There is a risk of a wider European downturn stemming from France, depending on the election outcomes," added Reilly.
Among stocks, Nokia (HE:NOKIA) added 1.4% after the Finnish firm agreed to buy Infinera Corp in a deal with an enterprise value of $2.3 billion.
Britain's largest sportswear retailer JD Sports fell more than 3% after U.S. peer Nike (NYSE:NKE) forecast a surprise drop in 2025 revenue.
German peers Puma and Adidas (ETR:ADSGN) also lost 2.6% and 0.4%, respectively.
Air France-KLM dropped 5.4% to a record low after Barclays (LON:BARC) cut the Franco-Dutch airline group to "equal-weight" from "overweight" on political uncertainty.
Finland's Fortum shed 3% after Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) downgraded the utility to "sell" on limited share upside and weaker profit and investment outlooks.