European stocks may open on a positive note Friday as investors await the all-important U.S. jobs report that could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting next week.
Economists currently expect U.S. employment to increase by 180,000 jobs in November after an increase of 150,000 jobs in October. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.9 percent.
A report on U.S. consumer sentiment for December may also attract attention, as it includes readings on inflation expectations.
While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged next week, traders will be looking for further evidence the central bank could cut rates as soon as March 2024.
Other central banks including the European Central Bank, Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank will also announce their monetary policy decisions next week, with no changes in interest rates expected.
Elsewhere in Japan, the rally in the yen spilled over into a second day on bets the Bank of Japan will exit from its ultra-loose monetary policy.
Asian markets traded mixed, Treasury yields were little changed, and gold edged up on dollar weakness while oil headed for a seventh straight weekly decline on signs of weakening Asian demand and worries over a global supply surplus.
U.S. stocks rose overnight as weekly jobless claims ticked up modestly and tech shares such as Alphabet and AMD rallied on optimism about artificial intelligence.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.4 percent to reach its best closing level in over four months while the S&P 500 climbed 0.8 percent and the Dow edged up 0.2 percent to snap a three-day losing streak.
European stocks edged lower on Thursday after weak readings on German industrial output and Eurozone GDP.
The pan European STOXX 600 eased 0.3 percent. The German DAX slipped 0.2 percent, while France’s CAC 40 slid 0.1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 finished marginally lower.
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