European Shares Seen Lower As Tariff Fears Resurface

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open a tad lower on Friday, with trading volumes likely to remain thin amid the Independence Day holiday in the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump's approach to tariffs remains a concern as the July 9 deadline approaches.

Trump said late Thursday that his administration will start sending out letters to different countries starting Friday, telling them what import tax (tariff) rates they will have to pay to sell goods in the U.S.

Separately, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said the U.S. and India are nearing a deal but talks with Japan and South Korea - have been stalled for weeks.

Closer home, the EU is reportedly pushing for an "agreement in principle" ahead of July 9 but Brussels is bracing for any outcome, including a return to tit-for-tat tariff escalation, media reports suggest.

U.S. fiscal worries also remain on investors' radar following the passage of Trump's 'big, beautiful' tax and spending bill, which would add trillions to the national debt and deepening fiscal imbalances.

Asian markets were mixed and the dollar pared gains against the euro and yen, while gold rose about half a percent after falling 1 percent on Thursday as traders pared bets on Fed rate cuts.

Thursday's upbeat U.S. jobs data erased bets for a July rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The chance of a move in September also ebbed to about 70 percent. Oil held a decline before an OPEC+ meeting that's set to deliver another oversized production hike.

In economic releases, Destatis publishes Germany's industrial orders data for May later in the day. Orders are forecast to fall 0.2 percent month-on-month, in contrast to the 0.6 percent increase in April.

France's statistical office INSEE is scheduled to release industrial output for May. Production is seen rising 0.4 percent on a monthly basis, reversing a 1.4 percent fall in April.

U.S. stocks posted strong gains overnight as a robust jobs report along with encouraging jobless claims and service sector activity readings helped ease worries about economic stress but tempered expectations for an imminent interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Data showed non-farm payroll employment shot up by 147,000 jobs in June after an upwardly revised addition of 144,000 jobs in May. The jobless rate edged down to 4.1 percent from 4.2 percent in May.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 1 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.8 percent to close at record highs as Republicans progressed with President Trump's tax-cut bill. The narrower Dow gained 0.8 percent.

European stocks closed higher on Thursday after the release of strong jobs data and amid receding concerns about the political situation in the U.K.

The pan European STOXX 600 edged up by half a percent. The German DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both rose by 0.6 percent, while France's CAC 40 gained 0.2 percent.