European Shares Seen Mixed At Open

European stocks may open on a mixed note Friday as investors react to China trade data and await the much-anticipated U.S. jobs report.

China’s exports for May beat analyst expectations with 7.6 percent growth year-on-year in dollar terms, after April’s 1.5 percent growth.

At the same time, imports slowed to 1.8 percent from the 8.4 percent surge recorded in April – painting a mixed picture of the world’s second-largest economy.

Trading later in the day may be driven by reaction to the U.S. monthly jobs report that could have a significant impact on the outlook for the economy and interest rates.

Employment is expected to have increased by 185,000 jobs in May after an increase of 175,000 jobs in April. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 3.9 percent.

Closer home, industrial production and foreign trade from Germany along with U.K. house price figures are the top economic news due later today, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.

Asian markets traded mixed but were on track to snap a two-week losing streak following interest-rate cuts from the European Central Bank and Bank of Canada.

U.S. Treasuries held steady, and the dollar languished near an eight-week low against a basket of currencies while gold held firm near a two-week high on Fed rate cut bets.

Oil edged up slightly to extend gains for a third straight session as OPEC ministers said the cartel could revise oil supply deal if needed.

On Thursday, the Saudi energy minister said OPEC+ can pause or reverse oil production increases if the market weakens.

U.S. stocks ended narrowly mixed overnight as weak jobless claims data and Wednesday’s ADP report spurred rate cut hopes.

While the Dow edged up 0.2 percent, both the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 finished marginally lower.

European stocks closed on a firm note Thursday as the European Central Bank delivered its first interest rate cut in five years, raised inflation forecasts for 2024 and 2025, and emphasized the need for more data and analysis to confirm the disinflationary path.

The pan European STOXX 600 climbed 0.7 percent. The German DAX and France’s CAC 40 both rose about 0.4 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 added half a percent.