European Shares May See Cautious Start As US Strikes Targets In Syria

(RTTNews) - European stocks may see cautious gains at open on Friday after world leaders counselled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay a full-scale invasion of Gaza, fearing it could ignite hostilities on other Middle East fronts.

Meanwhile, after robust U.S. GDP data fueled speculation of further Fed rate hikes, investors now await the Commerce Department's report on personal income and spending in September later in the day for further direction. The report includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.

U.S. stock futures ticked higher after Amazon and Intel both reported better-than-expected results. Energy giants Chevron and Exxon Mobil are among the companies due to report their results before the U.S. opening bell later in the day.

Asian shares were mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei average rallying more than 1 percent as chip-related stocks recovered after recent steep losses.

The dollar headed for a weekly gain while gold edged up slightly after a sharp retreat for long-term U.S. Treasury rates.

Oil prices rose about 2 percent after the U.S. military struck two Iran-linked facilities in Syria, raising concerns the Israel-Gaza war may spread.

The strikes in Syria follow a direct warning earlier from U.S. President Joe Biden to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei against the strikes on U.S. troops.

Overnight, U.S. stocks fell notably as investors weighed disappointing tech earnings against upbeat GDP data.

Bond yields topped 5 percent on some government debt after data showed the U.S. economy grew at a 4.9 percent annualized rate in the third quarter, above forecasts and the roughly 2 percent pace seen in the prior two quarters reflecting a surge in consumer spending.

In other economic news, durable goods orders jumped more than double economist's expectations in September, while initial jobless claims rose last week but still reflected a robust workforce.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.8 percent deeper into correction territory, while the S&P 500 gave up 1.2 percent and the Dow dropped 0.8 percent.

European stocks fell on Thursday after a slew of disappointing earnings.

The pan European STOXX 600 dropped half a percent as the European Central Bank sounded cautious about the economic outlook and stressed a 'higher for longer' message on rates.

The German DAX lost 1.1 percent, France's CAC 40 eased 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed 0.8 percent.