The pan-European STOXX 600 index was little changed at 0939 GMT, still on track to end the week lower after two weeks of gains. London's FTSE was up 0.4 percent, supported by oil and mining stocks.

China's exports rebounded to a five-month high in March, but imports shrank for a fourth straight month and at a faster pace, painting a mixed picture of the economy.

"The markets seems to have shaken off the negative aspects of the Chinese trade data, but it's a minor rise at the end of a fairly limp week," said Connor Campbell, an analyst at Spreadex.

Airbus gained as its new chief executive, Guillaume Faury, imposed a simplified management structure and a manifesto for factory modernisation.

Auto parts and basic resources stocks also gained. Rio Tinto and Glencore drove Britain's blue-chip index higher.

GN Store Nord rose 7 percent after the Danish audio-maker raised financial guidance. Medical technology supplier Carl Zeiss climbed 5.3 pct on strong full-year guidance.

Swiss train and carriage manufacturer Stadler Rail jumped 9.4 percent after its debut on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

London-based online trading platform Plus500 tumbled 23 percent as revenue for the first quarter dropped to around a fifth of last year's, hurt by a fall in trading volumes.

Its results dragged shares of rivals IG Group and CMC Markets down more than 3 percent each.

Banco Santander and UniCredit pared earlier losses. Bank stocks reversed course to rise 0.5 percent.

Banco Santander announced an offer to buy the 25 percent stake it doesn't own in its Mexican unit in an all-share deal worth around 2.6 billion euros ($2.93 billion).

Italy's biggest bank, UniCredit, said it is one of the banks accused of running a cartel in trading euro zone government bonds between 2007 and 2012, when financial crises dragged down banks and several European economies.