European Shares Set For Broadly Lower Open

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening broadly lower on Friday as AI-driven rally that boosted stocks earlier this week fizzled out and the U.S.-Iran-Israel conflict remained unresolved, despite the ceasefire and diplomacy.

U.S. stock index futures edged lower ahead of the nonfarm payrolls report later in the day, expected to show some moderation in employment growth in May after two straight months of strong gains.

In Europe, GDP and employment data may garner some attention later in the day. Asian markets were mostly lower, with South Korea and Japan leading losses due to heavy selling in major technology stocks.

On the geopolitical front, Israeli attacks continued across Lebanon despite a U.S.-backed ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has emphatically rejected the terms of the ceasefire and said it would not withdraw troops from the country, throwing the future of the truce into an abyss.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that Iran and Oman will jointly manage the Strait of Hormuz in line with international law.

The dollar steadied and was set for a small weekly gain while gold traded below $4,450 on Fed rate hike worries.

Brent crude futures remained on track for a weekly gain despite falling nearly 3 percent in the previous session.

U.S. stocks ended mostly higher overnight as energy prices fell on hopes for a resolution to the Middle East war, helping offset Broadcom's disappointing revenue forecast and data showing an increase in weekly jobless claims to a four-month high.

The Dow jumped 1.7 percent to reach a new record closing high and the S&P 500 added 0.4 percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 0.1 percent.

European stocks rose on Thursday as a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government raised hopes for broader de-escalation in the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.

The pan-European STOXX 600 advanced half a percent. The German DAX gained 0.6 percent, France's CAC 40 rallied 1.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up by 0.3 percent.