European Shares Poised To Open Lower

European stocks look set to open lower on Friday despite Wall Street rebounding from its biggest loss in nearly three months overnight.

As coronavirus infections spike in Europe and Asia, renewed travel curbs are back in place. Vaccine rollouts have been running into trouble, with the European Union poised to tighten rules on the export of vaccines.

The European Union and Britain are locked in a row over access to AstraZeneca’s jab, with both sides insisting the company uphold contractual delivery promises to each of them.

On the stimulus front, it appears likely that U.S. President Joe Biden’s proposed $1.9tn stimulus could be watered down and not even be ready until March.

Asian markets remain mostly lower after data showed Japan’s industrial output extended declines in December.

Amid mounting concerns about an imminent monetary tightening in China, the country’s central bank injected 100 billion yuan into the financial system today.

The dollar retreated in Asian trade and gold held steady while oil prices traded mixed.

U.S. stocks gained ground overnight after Q4 GDP data matched economist estimates and another report showed a bigger than expected decline in weekly jobless claims, suggesting a recovery in the labor market is underway.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 jumped around 1 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose half a percent.

European stocks finished mostly higher on Thursday as investors reacted to quarterly earnings announcements and the latest updates on vaccine rollouts.

The pan European Stoxx 600 inched up 0.1 percent. The German DAX edged up 0.3 percent and France’s CAC 40 index gained 0.9 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.6 percent.