European Shares Seen Higher As Yields Tick Down

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening higher on Friday despite overnight losses on Wall Street. U.S. stock futures ticked higher after the Nasdaq posted its biggest single-day loss since mid-August on fresh concerns over the sustainability of the AI spending boom.

The U.S. dollar took a breather as U.S. Treasury yields finally halted their relentless upward trajectory. The 10-year Treasury yield dropped to 5.22 percent after a 30-year debt auction met with solid demand.

Brent crude prices fell more than 1 percent to trade below $103 a barrel, paring gains from the previous session as U.S. President Donald Trump ruled out attacking Iran before the U.S. midterm elections on November 3, adding that record volumes of crude were currently passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

However, subsequent reports indicated that the U.S. had already prepared plans for three days of targeted strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure, drone and missile stockpiles.

Asian stocks were mixed, with markets in South Korea and Taiwan closed for a holiday. U.S. stocks closed lower overnight, with technology stocks pacing the declines after the Financial Times reported that OpenAI's annualized revenue is about $20 billion less than the company previously signaled.

Rising oil prices and elevated bond yields on hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller indicating potential for further interest rate increases also weighed on markets.

St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem also said more monetary policy tightening will be required to bring inflation back to target in a timely manner.

Brent crude prices eased to $103 a barrel from $106 earlier in the session as President Trump denied the U.S. would be attacking Iran at any time prior to the midterm elections next month, asserting that the two countries were holding "productive" discussions to end the six-month-old war.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.3 percent and the S&P 500 dropped half a percent while the narrower Dow edged up 0.1 percent.

European stocks fell sharply for a second straight session on Thursday as a fresh bond sell-off and elevated oil prices revived inflation and interest-rate concerns.

The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.8 percent. The German DAX tumbled 1.2 percent, France's CAC 40 shed half a percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slid 0.2 percent.