European stocks finished Friday's session higher, modestly recovering from a selloff spurred by U.S. political drama that dragged major regional benchmarks into the red for the week.

U.S. stocks finished higher Friday for a second straight session of gains, but closed in negative territory for the week, unable to fully bounce back from sharp losses in the middle of the week sparked by White House drama.

Japanese exports rose 7.5% in April, buoyed by strong demand in Asia for semiconductors, semiconductor-making equipment and steel. It was the fifth consecutive month of increase for exports, data from Japan's Ministry of Finance showed. The increase was in line with the 8.2% increase expected by economists according to a Wall Street Journal survey.