European Shares Seen Mixed At Open

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening mixed on Friday, with energy stocks in focus following reports of Iranian attacks on U.S. military infrastructure in West Asia. Brent crude prices climbed toward $77 a barrel after falling nearly 2 percent in the previous session on speculation the escalation of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran will be limited.

After the U.S. military hit 90 Iranian targets, Iran retaliated by targeting U.S. assets in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. Tehran reportedly launched more strikes in Kuwait, Jordan, and Iraq later on Thursday.

Explosions were reported across parts of southern Iran on Thursday, including areas near the Bushehr nuclear power plant, along with Konarak, Choghadak and Bandar Abbas but Washington rejected any involvement in the latest attacks.

Elsewhere, Israeli Defense Minister Katz signaled that Israeli forces stood ready to resume operations against Iran "with even greater force" if necessary. Any future campaign would be more powerful than previous operations, he added.

Asian markets rallied, with chip and AI firms leading the surge on the eve of SK Hynix's U.S. market debut.

The U.S. dollar held steady and gold was marginally lower at $4,116 an ounce after a U.S. official said the U.S. will continue "technical talks" with Iran and remains committed to finding a solution to the conflict.

U.S. stocks fluctuated before closing higher overnight, with technology stocks leading the surge as SK Hynix's $28 billion U.S. share sale attracted immense demand and Micron Technology announced plans to invest up to $3 billion to strengthen the semiconductor supply chain.

Fears about a return to full-blow war subsided after President Donald Trump claimed that Iran wants to "make a deal so badly," but he doesn't know if they're worthy of making a deal.

Trump's comments came after U.S. Central Command said it hit 90 Iranian targets in the latest round of strikes and Iranian armed forces retaliated by launching attacks on U.S. military infrastructure in Gulf states.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.3 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 0.8 percent and the Dow edged up 0.3 percent.

European stocks closed firmly higher on Thursday, led by a rebound in technology shares. The pan-European STOXX 600 advanced 0.8 percent.

The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both rose around 0.9 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slid 0.2 percent, dragged down by energy stocks.