European Shares Set For Steady Open

European stocks may open slightly higher on Friday after suffering sharp losses in the previous session.

Asian markets were trading mixed, with concerns about global growth and rising Delta variant cases of the coronavirus denting sentiment.

As new variants become more pervasive, the COVID-19 curve in the U.S. is rising again after months of decline.

U.S.-China tensions also remain on investors’ radar, with U.S. President Joe Biden announcing his administration will issue an advisory cautioning U.S. companies about the risks of doing business in Hong Kong.

The dollar edged lower and U.S. Treasury yields extended slide to hit one-week lows as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s views, saying that expectations for price gains still look well contained.

Meanwhile, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard urged policymakers to move forward in reducing stimulus, arguing the goal of achieving “substantial further progress” on both inflation and employment has been met.

Earlier today, the Bank of Japan revised down its growth forecast for the current fiscal year, but maintained its view the economy was headed for a moderate recovery.

Oil held steady in Asian trade after two days of losses on concerns about a possible oversupply of oil. Gold traded flat but was on track to post its fourth weekly gain.

Finalized June inflation figures and trade data for the Eurozone will be in focus later today. Across the Atlantic, retail sales and consumer sentiment figures may sway sentiment.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated expectations for inflation pressures to fade and data showed weekly jobless claims fell to a pandemic-era low.

U.S. industrial production rose in June but manufacturing output continued to be hindered by supply shortages, separate reports revealed.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7 percent and the S&P 500 shed 0.3 percent, while the Dow edged up 0.2 percent after UnitedHealth reported better than expected second quarterly results.

European stocks fell sharply on Thursday amid worries about inflation, signs of slowing growth in China and concerns about rising delta variant of the coronavirus cases.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gave up 1 percent. The German DAX and France’s CAC 40 index both fell around 1 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 dropped 1.1 percent.

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