European Markets Seen Opening Mildly Positive On Friday

(RTTNews) - Mildly positive sentiment is expected to prevail in stock markets in Europe on Friday as markets digest the outlook for the technology sector, the ECB's forward guidance, the corporate earnings, the U.S. job market update as well as the volatility in global markets. Geopolitics is also expected to weigh on sentiment amidst the proposed talks between the U.S. and Iran scheduled to be held in Oman on Friday.

Wall Street had closed on a heavily negative note on Thursday amidst a tech-driven slump attributed to concerns over massive artificial intelligence spending and potential disruption to software companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.2 percent to finish trading at 48,908.72. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunged 1.6 percent to close trading at 22,540.59.

European markets too closed on a negative note on Thursday amid a batch of negative earnings as well as hawkish hints from the European Central Bank. U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed 0.90 percent. The pan-European Stoxx-50 erased 0.66 percent. Germany's DAX slipped 0.46 percent. Switzerland's SMI declined 0.28 percent whereas France's CAC 40 lost 0.29 percent.

Current indications from the European stock futures indicate a mildly positive sentiment. The CAC 40 Futures (Feb) is trading 0.52 percent higher. The FTSE 100 Futures (March) is trading 0.18 percent higher. The DAX Futures (Mar) is trading 0.23 percent higher. The pan-European Stoxx 50 Futures (Mar) stood 0.08 percent higher. The SMI Futures (Mar) closed 0.76 percent lower on Thursday.

American stock futures are trading in negative territory implying the broader technology selloff is deepening. The US 30 (DJIA) is trading 0.06 percent lower, whereas the US500 (S&P 500) is trading 0.11 percent below the flatline.

Asian stock markets are trading on a mixed note. Japan's Nikkei 225 has edged up 0.30 percent as investors focused on this weekend's national election. South Korea's KOSPI has plunged 2.8 percent. Australia's S&P ASX 200 has dropped 2.1 percent. China's Shanghai Composite has added 0.27 percent whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng has erased 1.2 percent. India's Nifty 50 is trading 0.52 percent below the flatline. Markets in New Zealand are closed on a holiday.

The Dollar Index, a measure of the U.S. dollar's strength relative to six currencies, is currently trading at 97.80, slipping 0.17 percent from 97.97 at close on Thursday. The EUR/USD pair is trading 0.14 percent higher at 1.1796 whereas the GBP/USD pair has rallied 0.17 percent to trade at 1.3559. The USD/CHF pair has slipped 0.21 percent to trade at 0.7765. The EUR/GBP pair is trading 0.02 percent lower at 0.8700. The EUR/JPY pair has edged down 0.05 percent to 184.79 whereas the GBP/JPY pair has slipped 0.04 percent to 212.41.

Gold prices have retreated further from Thursday's closing level of $4,889.50. Gold Futures for April settlement are currently trading at $4,828.90, down around 1.24 percent from the previous close amidst persisting volatility.

Both the crude oil benchmarks are trading well above the flatline ahead of talks between U.S. and Iran scheduled to be held in Oman. Brent Crude Futures for April settlement is trading at $67.87, around 0.47 percent higher than $67.55 at close on Thursday. WTI Crude Futures for March settlement is currently at $63.65, around 0.57 percent higher than $63.29 at the previous close.

Among economic data releases due from the region are trade data as well as industrial production data for December from Germany, Halifax house price index for January from U.K., trade data for December from France as well as unemployment rate for January from Switzerland. The ECB's Survey of Professional Forecasters is also due for release on Friday.

Major updates to earnings due from the region include Philip Morris International, Kongsberg Gruppen, Komercni Banka, Telenor, Industrivarden, Oersted, Dong Energy, Coloplast, Skanska as well as UniCredit.