European stocks switched gears and finished higher Thursday, with Spanish stocks advancing before the results of Catalonia's regional election came in. The Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, +0.60% rose 0.6% to end at 390.69, led by gains for oil and gas and basic material companies. Utilities was the sole sector finishing lower. The index's win was its first after two losing sessions.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday, with energy stocks helping major indexes to end points away from record territory. The latest economic data, which pointed to slight slowing from strong previous readings, further supported the market.

Asia-Pacific stocks largely rose early Friday in thin preholiday trade, following an overnight rebound in European equities and mild gains on Wall Street. But bitcoin prices BTCUSD, -5.43% slumped in morning trading, going from $15,800 to $13,200 in barely three hours, according to CoinDesk, before quickly rebounding above $14,000. Many of the biggest cryptocurrencies also fell significantly, with bitcoin cash plunging 27% in the past day.