European Shares May See Cautious Gains Ahead Of US Jobs Report

(RTTNews) - European stocks are likely to open higher on Friday, as investors react to upbeat U.S. earnings and await the all-important monthly jobs report later in the day for more clues on the Federal Reserve's next moves in its campaign against high inflation.

Apple earnings topped estimates on record services revenue while Amazon saw its biggest earnings beat since its report for the fourth quarter of 2020.

Economists expect the U.S. economy to have added about 200,000 jobs in July, but job gains could be higher because of the upbeat ADP employment data released earlier this week.

Richmond Federal Reserve President Tom Barkin said on Thursday that the impact of higher interest rates "should start to really hit around now" but easing inflationary pressures could help stave off a widely predicted U.S. recession.

Asian markets traded mixed while the dollar and Treasury yields held steady after recent gains.

Gold was marginally higher while oil prices were on track for a sixth weekly gain after Saudi Arabia and Russia pledged to cut output through next month.

U.S. stocks fluctuated before ending slightly overnight after a surge in Treasury yields and mixed economic readings.

A measure of U.S. service sector activity slowed in July while jobless claims increased slightly last week but layoffs dropped to an 11-month low in July, separate reports showed.

The Dow slid 0.2 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished marginally lower and the S&P 500 dipped 0.3 percent.

European stocks fell for a third day to hit three-week lows on Thursday after the release of disappointing Eurozone and U.K. services data and the Bank of England's decision to raise rates by 25 basis points.

The pan European STOXX 600 gave up 0.6 percent. The German DAX shed 0.8 percent, France's CAC 40 eased 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE slipped 0.4 percent.