European Shares Seen Lower Amid Uncertainty Over Hormuz Reopening

(RTTNews) - European stocks may drift lower at open on Friday, with AI spending worries and Hormuz reopening uncertainty likely to weigh on markets.

With several Fed officials sending hawkish signals, investors also await the monthly U.S. jobs report later in the day for additional clues on the economic and rate outlook.

The Labor Department's closely watched report may show that U.S. employment jumped by 88,000 jobs in July after an increase of 57,000 jobs in June.

Closer home, trade and industrial production data from Germany along with France's jobless rate may garner attention.

AI valuation concerns persist after SanDisk and Western, two of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI storage boom, issued disappointing forecasts on Thursday.

U.S. stock futures were mixed amid a resurgence in geopolitical and trade tensions.

Solar cells and modules shipped to the United States will now face an additional 15 percent tariff from December 4 under a new trade measure signed by President Donald Trump.

Brent crude futures surged toward $84 a barrel, building on the previous session's sharp gains, after Iran reportedly struck "hostile targets" in the Strait of Hormuz and said a deal with Oman to manage traffic through the waterway will not fully reopen the vital global trade route.

Israel resumed attacks in southern Lebanon after announcing the deaths of two reserve soldiers and severe injuries to four others in an explosion the day before.

Asian markets were broadly lower while the dollar held steady after bouncing overnight. Higher oil prices lifted Treasury yields while gold traded 0.9 percent higher at $4,277 an ounce.

U.S. stocks ended lower overnight while oil and bond yields rose after reports emerged that Iran may bar U.S., Israeli and other "hostile" vessels from transiting the Strait of Hormuz, raising fresh concerns over global oil supplies.

It was said that the draft bill, which seeks to impose fines of up to 20 percent of a ship's cargo value for violations of the proposed restrictions, remains under expert review and is open to recommendations before any legislative action is taken.

Investors also digested new labor market data that showed the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits increased slightly last week but remained below 200,000 for a third straight week.

The Dow dipped 0.9 percent, the S&P 500 eased 0.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished marginally lower.

European stocks ended mixed on Thursday, failing to hold onto early gains as reports of attacks on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden offset support from strong earnings reports.

The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.2 percent, marking its fourth consecutive day of gains.

While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 percent, the German DAX finished marginally higher and France's CAC 40 gained 0.4 percent.