European equities finished slightly higher Thursday, aided by earnings-driven jumps for retailer Next PLC, defense supplier Cobham PLC and lender UniCredit SpA. The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, +0.08% closed up 0.1% at 378.93 after a choppy session, putting the benchmark on track for a weekly gain of 0.2% with one trading session still to go. But some strategists are sounding downbeat, as the index stays well below its mid-May closing high around 396.

U.S. stocks closed mostly lower on Thursday, pressured by a sharp decline in energy shares, though the Dow bucked the trend to close slightly higher and put in its seventh straight record close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.04% rose less than 0.1% to 22,026. The blue-chip index has risen for eight straight sessions, its longest such streak since February.

Stocks continued to struggle for direction amid slow late-summer trading, as investors paused following strong gains this year and ahead of the U.S. employment report due later Friday. Asia-Pacific equities started with a modest downbeat tone, with country-specific issues weighing on Japanese and Australian stocks.