European Shares Seen Opening Flat

European stocks are set to open on a flat note Friday after major U.S. indexes recouped some losses to finish off their day’s lows overnight.

Asian markets retreated to hit two-month lows, as a rapidly spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus around the world and fears of an imminent monetary policy tightening by central banks to rein in inflation spurred concerns about the pace of global economic recovery.

Political tensions in the Middle East, Russia and China coupled with Beijing’s crackdown on foreign-listed Chinese firms also hurt investors’ appetite for riskier assets.

Gold rose and was set to end the week with its third consecutive weekly gain as 10-year U.S. Treasury yields reached levels not seen since February, reflecting investor anxiety about the economic outlook.

London copper prices ticked up as the U.S. dollar pulled back from a three-month high. Oil prices rose modestly after the EIA report showed a much bigger drop than expected in crude and gasoline inventories.

Monthly GDP estimate and foreign trade reports are due from the U.K. later in the session, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

China’s consumer price inflation eased in June and factory gate prices rose at a slower pace after the government stepped up efforts to rein in rising commodity prices, official data showed earlier in the day.

U.S. stocks ended firmly in negative territory overnight and Treasury yields sank for a fourth day, as worries about the rapid spread of Delta variant of the coronavirus and disappointing jobless claims data added to concerns about the economic outlook.

The Dow shed 0.8 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7 percent and the S&P 500 gave up 0.9 percent.

European stocks ended deep in the red on Thursday on concerns about China’s recovery and the country’s historic tech crackdown. The European Central Bank raised its inflation goal, signaling a longer period of easy money.

The pan European Stoxx 600 plunged 1.7 percent. France’s CAC 40 index tumbled 2 percent, while the German DAX and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 both lost 1.7 percent.

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