European Stocks Seen Opening Firm

European stock markets are expected to open positive on Friday tracking gains in Asian peers. Investors would however be keeping an eye on the payroll data from the U.S. for cues on strength of the labor market and the likely headroom available for the Fed to continue its hawkish stance.

Consensus estimates point to the American economy adding 200 thousand jobs in October versus 263 thousand in September. The unemployment rate is seen rising to 3.6 percent from 3.5 percent earlier.

On Thursday, reaction to the Fed’s hawkish guidance had dragged European benchmarks lower, led by Germany’s DAX which plunged 0.95 percent, the pan-European Stoxx 600 which shed 0.93 percent, Switzerland’s SMI which dropped 0.89 percent and France’s CAC 40 which erased 0.54 percent. U.K.’s FTSE 100 however bucked the trend to rise 0.62 percent.

The Wall Street had also closed with losses on Thursday as the Fed dashed hopes of a policy pivot. Nasdaq Composite shed 1.73 percent to close at 10,342.94 whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.46 percent to finish trading at 32,001.25.

The FTSE 100 Futures (Dec) is trading 0.55 percent higher. The DAX Futures (Dec) is trading 0.42 percent higher. The CAC 40 Futures (Nov) had closed 0.7 percent lower on Thursday.

U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the Dollar against a basket of six currencies weakened around 0.4 percent and is currently at 112.47. The EUR/USD pair strengthened 0.33 percent to 0.9783, while the GBP/USD pair gained 0.56 percent to 1.1228.

Gold Futures for December settlement gained more than a percent to trade at $1,648.15 per troy ounce, versus $1,630.9 on Thursday, amidst a modest retreat in the Dollar.

WTI Crude Futures for December settlement is trading at $89.91, an uptick of close to 2 percent whereas Brent Crude Futures for January settlement is trading at $95.40, up 0.77 percent from the previous close. The price surge comes amidst a modest retreat in the Dollar.

American stock futures point to positive trends, with the US 30 (DJIA) index up 0.2 percent and US500 (S&P 500) up 0.3 percent.

Asian markets are trading mostly higher amidst hopes that China would ease its Zero Covid policy. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained as much as 7 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite is trading more than 2 percent higher. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 and South Korea’s KOSPI have gained more than half a percent. New Zealand’s NZX 50 has gained 0.41 percent. India’s Nifty 50 has edged down 0.14 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is down 1.8 percent, in a delayed reaction to the hawkish Fed moves on account of Thursday’s market holiday.

Germany awaits the Factory Orders data for September whereas France is expecting the Industrial production numbers for September. The S&P Global Services PMI reading for October is due for release later in the day from France, Germany and Euro Area. The S&P Global/CIPS UK Construction PMI is also due on Friday. Markets are also looking out for the address by ECB President Christine Lagarde, for any hints on future monetary policy or interest rate shifts.

Major earnings updates due are from Ricoh, Komercni Banka, Enbridge, Aker, Intesa Sanpaolo, Amadeus, Telefonica, Societe Generale, Vonovia, Gamesa and Erste Group Bank.

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