Europe's main stock index ticked lower on Friday as bleak earnings from automobile firms Valeo and Mercedes dragged down the sector, and was set for a weekly decline.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.3% as of 0718 GMT, on track for its first weekly loss in three as investors navigated corporate earnings, the global rate-cut trajectory and the upcoming U.S. elections.

Auto stocks fell 0.9% while NatWest's positive results underpinned bank stocks, up 0.4%.

German automaker Mercedes-Benz fell 3.7% after third-quarter earnings in core car division massively missed estimates, while Valeo shed 7.5% as the automotive supplier cut its annual sales guidance for the second time this year.

French spirits-maker Remy Contreau shed 3% at open after dropping its forecast that its full-year sales would gradually recover after quarterly sales fell more than expected, and was last down 0.3%.

(Reporting by Paolo Laudani in Gdansk and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)