European stocks ended the week on a strong footing on Friday, as investors ventured into riskier assets such as equities as oil prices rose and the Japanese yen retreated, while upbeat trade data lifted Germany's DAX 30 index.

U.S. stocks closed moderately higher Friday but still booked their worst week since early February as the market failed to lock in bigger early gains sparked by a crude-oil rally.

Most Asian stocks fell, as losses in Japanese equities on a stronger yen offset gains in Chinese shares. Energy producers climbed with oil. While China data showed producer prices posted their first gain since September 2013. The focus now turns to first-quarter earnings in the U.S.

Based on MarketWatch materials