European markets opened in mixed territory on Friday, as corporate earnings, monetary policy and key U.S. jobs data remained in focus.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was little changed shortly after the opening bell, with major bourses mostly trading flat. London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.1% during early morning deals.
Stocks in Europe closed at a record high on Thursday, erasing losses earlier this week when the beginnings of a possible U.S.-China trade war sent jitters through global markets.
The fresh highs came after a flurry of company earnings report and an interest rate cut from the Bank of England. The central bank on Thursday cut its key rate by 25 basis points and signaled more cuts were on the horizon in 2025. However, it also halved its growth projection for Britain, slashing its 2025 growth forecast from 1.5% to 0.75%.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey told CNBC on Thursday that even if the U.K. manages to avoid U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs regime, a trade war between the U.S. and another major economy “will have an effect” on Britain.
Friday will see the release of January U.S. jobs data, which is scheduled for publication at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists polled by Dow Jones are anticipating nonfarm payrolls growth to have cooled to 169,000 new jobs in January, down from the 256,000 jobs added in December. The Dow Jones survey also found economists are expecting America’s unemployment rate to hold steady at 4.1%.
In Europe, data releases will include French and German import and export data, house price data from the U.K., and an industrial production print from Spain.
Corporate earnings releases will resume in Europe on Friday, with a handful of companies including Danske Bank, Ashmore Group and Kongsberg slated to update investors on their finances.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as investors digested India’s first interest rate cut in almost five years and economic data out of Japan.
On Wall Street, stock futures were little changed ahead of the release of the United States’ January jobs report.
— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.
