Germany's DAX rose 0.5% to 12,925.70 and the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.3% to 5,747.56. Britain's FTSE 100 picked up 0.3% to 7,268.77. Wall Street looked set for gains, with futures for the S&P 500 and Dow up 0.2%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.3% to 22,850.77 after a survey of purchasing managers showed factory activity contracting in October.
The Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing purchasing managers index hit 48.4 on a scale where 50 shows activity contracting. That was down from 48.9 in September.
"Worrying signs for Japanese manufacturers appeared at the start of the fourth quarter, with PMI data showing conditions deteriorating at the sharpest rate for almost three-and-a-half years," Joe Hayes of IHS Markit said in a commentary.
"Even more concerning was the fact that new orders, a key forward-looking component of the survey, was the primary reason underpinning this marked decline," he said.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.7% to 27,100.76 and the Shanghai Composite jumped 1.0% to 2,958.20. In South Korea the Kospi climbed 0.8% to 2,100.20. In Australia, the S&P ASX/200 inched up 0.1% to 6,669.10.
India's Sensex edged 0.1% lower to 40,097.12. Shares also fell in Bangkok and Jakarta but rose in Singapore and Taiwan.
Stocks closed broadly lower on Wall Street on Thursday following a report that raised concerns about the prospects of a comprehensive trade deal between Washington and Beijing.
The Bloomberg report, citing unnamed sources, suggested Chinese officials are doubtful that they will be able to reach a comprehensive, long-term trade deal with the U.S.
That overshadowed remarks by President Donald Trump, who touted Thursday that both sides are working on finding a location to sign "phase one" of the trade deal.
The world's two biggest economies have wrangled for more than 15 months over U.S. allegations that China steals technology, forces businesses to hand over trade secrets and unfairly subsidizes its technology companies in an aggressive drive to supplant American technological dominance.
They have imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of each other's goods in a trade fight that has slowed global economic growth.
Negotiators from both countries are trying to settle details of the phase one deal, which sidesteps some of the biggest issues dividing the countries.
"You have the Chinese saying, 'Gee, they're not sure there's a possibility for a long-term negotiation here, which is just another reminder that there are big issues still on the table," said Paul Christopher, head of global market strategy for Wells Fargo Investment Institute. "A phase one deal is not really much of a deal at all."
Benchmark crude oil gained 20 cents to $54.38 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 88 cents to settle at $54.18 a barrel on Thursday.
Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 8 cents to $59.70 a barrel.
The dollar fell to 108.00 Japanese yen from 108.02 yen on Thursday. The euro strengthened to $1.1157 from $1.1152.