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Luxury stocks aid gains on France's CAC 40

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Elisa slumps on unexpected Q3 revenue fall

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Goldman Sachs ( GS ) slashes STOXX 600 2024 earnings growth

forecast

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STOXX 600 up 0.2%

(Updated at 1602 GMT)

By Paolo Laudani, Ankika Biswas and Johann M Cherian

Oct 18 (Reuters) - Europe's STOXX 600 ended higher on

Friday, as tech stocks made a strong comeback at the end of a

bumpy week, while the European Central Bank's rate cut and a

flurry of corporate earnings helped the index deliver a second

straight week of gains.

The STOXX 600 closed up 0.2% as the tech sector

led gains with a 2% jump.

That cut the weekly loss for the tech index to 6%, but it

remained the worst-performing sector this week after ASML's

weak 2025 sales forecast sparked a rout in chip stocks

globally.

The computer chip equipment maker's shares were up 1% on

Friday, while chip stocks Soitec SA and BE

Semiconductor Industries were up 5.6% and 2.8%,

respectively.

Basic resources shares climbed 1.4%, boosted by

strong copper prices.

The luxury stocks index rose 1.1% after a

sell-off earlier this week following LVMH's weak

third-quarter sales.

With LVMH, other luxury giants such as Gucci-owner Kering

and Hermes rose 3.5% and 1% respectively,

aiding France's main CAC 40 index that gained 0.4%.

Brunello Cucinelli rose 2.6% following the Italian

luxury group's strong nine-month revenue performance.

However, brokerage Goldman Sachs ( GS ) slashed its 2024 earnings

growth forecast for Europe's STOXX 600 index to 2% from

6%, citing risks from rising corporate taxes and potential trade

tariffs.

On the policy front, the ECB trimmed its interest rates to

3.25% on Thursday. Sources told Reuters a fourth cut in December

was likely unless key data turned south by then.

The STOXX index hit record highs multiple times earlier this

year, but has struggled to make any gains since mid-May as

sluggish economic growth and weak Chinese demand held back

investors, despite European stocks trading at cheaper valuations

than their U.S. peers.

"The particular point of vulnerability for Europe, is that

the economic downside looks to be much riskier than in the U.S.,

so trend growth is slower and you're much more vulnerable to

downside risks and shocks," said Daniel Murray, deputy CIO &

global head of research at EFGAM.

Elisa fell 4.7% after the Finnish telecom

company's third-quarter revenue missed expectations, while

Swedish medical equipment maker Getinge dropped 5%

after third-quarter core earnings missed forecasts.