European shares rise as retailers, defensive stocks gain

European shares opened higher on Friday, set for their fifth straight week of gains, with the retail sector outperforming and investors rotating into defensive stocks. The European retail sector jumped 0.8%, the most among the main sub-sectors, powered by a 2.7% gain in Casino after the debt-laden French retailer said it was in talks to sell its discount store chain Leader Price to German rival Aldi. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.1%, with London's FTSE 100 underperforming.