Source: Sharecast
The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 0.10% at 547 points in early deals with most major bourses higher except for France's CAC 40 which fell 0.10%.
“When it comes to global trade right now the only certainty is uncertainty. Just a day after US courts halted the lion’s share of Trump’s recent tariff increases, judges have temporarily reinstated the new border taxes. Little wonder markets are struggling for direction,” said Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.
A federal appeals court granted the administration’s request to temporarily pause a lower court ruling that struck down most of Trump’s tariffs. The original decision to block the measures boosted share markets on Thursday.
"Asian stocks were generally down over night and US futures are pointing to a weak open later today. Investors on Wall Street are also weighing up slightly weaker than expected employment data. Last week’s initial jobless claims rose 14,000 to 240,000 with expectations now rising for an uptick in US unemployment which was last reported at 4.2%," Nathan added.
"Markets will be hoping May’s core PCE inflation number out later today won’t stray much above annualised forecasts of 2.5%. However, the numbers need to be taken with a large pinch of salt given that they’re yet to feel the full impact of tariffs."
"Any sign of worsening inflationary pressure is likely to weigh on expectations for further interest cuts by the Fed this year which would be a worry given the inertia building in the economy.
In economic news, German retail sales fell by 1.1% in April compared with the previous month. That compared with an expected 0.2% increase from analysts.
In equity news, M&G surged after Japan’s Dai-ichi Life agreed to take a 15% stake in the investment manager as part of a partnership expected to generate at least $6bn in new business flows into funds managed by M&G over the next five years.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com