On Friday European stocks were little changed, erasing earlier gains, as the bonds of the euro area’s weakest economies declined amid renewed speculation that the region’s sovereign-debt crisis will spread. Asian shares climbed, while U.S. index futures dropped.

PPR SA climbed 1.9 percent as people with knowledge of the matter said three buyout firms may bid for the luxury-goods company’s Redcats unit. Daily Mail & General Trust Plc advanced 1.4 percent after News Corp. said it will close rival tabloid News of the World following a phone-hacking scandal. RWE AG retreated 3.9 percent after a report that the utility’s supervisory board may discuss a share sale in August.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up, after rising 0.4 percent in the previous session to its highest close in five weeks, buoyed by a report showing strong U.S. job private sector jobs creation. Stocks rose virtually across the board, albeit modestly, with the heavyweight banking sector among the gainers as worries about Greece’s debt crisis receded. The IMF executive board is expected to approve the disbursement of just over 3 billion euros for Greece, in time to help the country pay debts falling due this month.

Asian stocks closed mostly higher with Chinese stocks posting a third consecutive week of gains on expectations of strong U.S. jobs data and ahead of China’s June inflation data due on Saturday.

Japanese stocks rose, pushing the Nikkei 225 Stock Average to its highest level since the March earthquake disaster, as advertisers and real estate developers gained amid recovering demand. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.7 percent. The gauge has increased three weeks running, adding 2.7 percent in the past five days. The broader Topix rose 0.4 percent with about three shares rising for every two that fell.