European Shares Seen Broadly Higher At Open

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening broadly higher on Friday as a selloff in chip stocks eased and bond markets stabilized following a heavy sell-off earlier in the week, triggered by AI debt concerns.

Eurozone CPI data for September will be in the spotlight later today against a backdrop of rising interest rates and concerns over France's debt crisis.

Automakers could be in focus after Bloomberg News reported that the European Union is considering a new trade instrument to respond to economic pressure from China, beyond existing tariffs and trade restrictions.

U.S. stock futures ticked higher as cautious Fed comments helped traders pull back Fed rate hike bets.

AI financing worries eased somewhat after TSMC reported a record third-quarter profit, powered by an unrelenting global appetite for AI chips, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang defended the financial health of AI computing supplier CoreWeave Inc.

Meanwhile, ahead of a potential stock market debut before year-end, Anthropic reportedly told prospective investors that its third-quarter revenue reached $16.8 billion, up nearly 12-fold from a year earlier.

Asian markets were broadly higher after Wall Street rebounded from a three-day losing streak.

Brent crude prices were subdued around $105 a barrel but headed for a weekly gain amid mounting supply concerns in the Middle East.

The U.S. Central Command dismissed "Iranian claims" to control the Strait of Hormuz, asserting that commercial traffic continues despite IRGC attacks.

In a statement on X, the U.S. military command disputed Tehran's assertions regarding control of the strategic waterway, the sinking of a Singapore-flagged container ship, and alleged American military casualties in Jordan.

Gold was little changed at $4,172 an ounce after rising over 1 percent in the previous session. The dollar headed for its first weekly fall in five weeks amid wobbles in AI investment and falling U.S. Treasury yields.

After hotter-than-expected U.S. PPI inflation data reinforced concerns over Federal Reserve rate hikes, investors now await a speech scheduled later in the day by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh for further direction.

According to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool, the Fed is likely to leave rates unchanged later this month. The chance of a December rate hike currently stands at 67 percent, up from 62 percent on Wednesday.

Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack warned on Thursday that the Fed may need to raise rates more forcefully if the public's inflation expectations were to deteriorate notably.

U.S. stocks rose overnight as investors concerned about AI companies' exposure to higher borrowing costs shifted into healthcare stocks.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries retreated but held near multiyear highs as data showed producer prices rose by the most in 4-1/2 years in September due to rising goods and services costs.

Wholesale inflation surged 6.3 percent in September from a year ago, coming in well above expectations as petrol prices rocketed due to the war with Iran.

While the Dow jumped 1.1 percent to its best closing level in a month, the S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1 percent.

European stocks hit their highest in more than two weeks on Thursday, with underlying sentiment underpinned by solid earnings, softening global bond yields and strong U.K. GDP data.

The pan-European STOXX 600 advanced 0.4 percent. The German DAX rose 0.3 percent, France's CAC 40 surged 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rallied 1.1 percent.