Futures data pointed to a broadly negative open in Europe on Friday, as the U.S.-Iran war continues to weigh on investor sentiment.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s hints that an end to the war is in sight, plus a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon coming into effect, failed to bolster optimism in global equity markets.
Futures tied to the regional Stoxx 600 were last seen 0.2% lower, while those tied to Germany’s DAX and the French CAC 40 hovered just below the flatline. Swiss SMI futures and futures tied to Italy’s FTSE MIB were down by 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.
FTSE 100 futures bucked the trend, moving marginally higher ahead of the week’s final opening bell.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 is currently on track for a weekly gain of around 0.3%, a notable decline in gains from the previous two weeks, which saw the index move 3.7% and 3% higher.
Overnight, U.S. President Donald Trump said at an event in Las Vegas that the war “should be ending pretty soon,” and that operations in Iran are “going along swimmingly.”
On April 1, the president said he expected the war to last another two to three weeks.
Global market sentiment was lackluster as the week drew to a close, with Asia-Pacific equity markets generally moving lower on Friday. On Wall Street, stock futures were mixed.
Oil prices fell on Friday morning, with global benchmark Brent crude futures holding below the $100 mark.
In corporate news, German airline Lufthansa said Thursday it would immediately ground dozens of planes and cut flight capacity, amid rising fuel prices. Also on Thursday, budget airline easyJet‘s stock fell as elevated jet fuel prices weighed on its bookings outlook.
Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson reported an earnings miss on Friday. Adjusted operating profit for the first quarter came in at 5.2 billion Swedish kronor ($570 million), slightly below the 5.4 billion kronor expected by analysts, according to Reuters.
— CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed to this article.
