European stocks finished higher on Friday as a better-than-expected report on U.S. retail sales lifted sentiment, easing fears that the world's largest economy isn't heading for a slowdown. The weekly advance comes even as investors world-wide this week have been wrestling with a crop of lackluster corporate earnings, including a run of poor results from U.S. retailers.

U.S stocks tumbled Friday, notching another weekly loss for the three main benchmarks. Shares dropped as a strong report on U.S. retail sales failed to assuage investor worries about the troubled sector. Meanwhile, a drop in crude-oil futures weighed on energy shares and deflated investors' appetite for risky assets.

Buoyant Japanese stocks led Asian stocks to modest gains on Monday, helping to offset some of the gloom from soft Chinese data, while the dollar firmed against the euro and yen after receiving a boost from upbeat U.S. indicators. It held the gains despite a denial by Japan's top government spokesman on Monday that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to delay the tax hike.

Based on MarketWatch materials