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Investors have kept their risk-off hat as the market looks to cap off a volatile week that followed the Bank of Japan’s policy tweak and ended with worries about where U.S. yields are headed.
Futures indicate European stocks are set for a higher open but whether they are able to hold on to the gains remains to be seen. The pan-European STOXX 600 index is at more than three-week lows and on course to snap its run of gains and could do with some Friday cheer.
Before the headline U.S. non-farm payroll report comes through later in the day, investor attention will be on construction PMI data from euro zone, UK and Germany. Sterling will also be in focus after getting whipsawed on Thursday after the Bank of England’s modest rate hike. The pound was up 0.2% in Asian hours.
Meanwhile, China’s central bank said monetary policy tools, including reserve requirement ratio cuts and open market operations, could be used to ensure liquidity in the banking system, a day after its governor pledged to guide more financial resources towards the private sector.
Investors have pinned hopes on stimulus and policy easing from Beijing to rev up the anaemic rebound in the world’s second-biggest economy.
In the corporate world, big tech earnings were a mixed bag. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on Thursday forecast that a sales slump would continue into the current quarter even as it beat Wall Street sales and profit targets in the fiscal third quarter.
Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) on the other hand reported sales growth and profit that beat Wall Street’s expectations as the company delivered goods faster and more cheaply while recent cloud-computing headwinds began to subside.
Key developments that could influence markets on Friday:
Economic events: UK July construction PMI, Italy June industrial production, Germany July construction PMI, Eurozone retail sales
