European markets opened lower on Friday, as investors monitor economic data and ongoing turbulence in the U.K.’s debt markets.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.1% shortly after the opening bell, with most sectors and major bourses in negative territory. London’s FTSE 100 shed more than 0.1% during early morning deals.
Shares of Ubisoft were down more than 8% by 8:17 a.m. London time, after the French videogame maker said it had appointed strategic advisors to review its options following reports last year that a buyout was under consideration.
Traders in the region are monitoring developments in the U.K. market, as yields on some gilts — British government bonds — hit their highest levels in decades this week.
After yields on 30-year gilts soared to their highest rates since the late 1990s in recent days, the yield on 10-year gilts hit its highest since the 2008 financial crisis on Thursday. Britain’s 10-year gilt yields were little changed on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, the British pound has slumped to its lowest against the U.S. dollar in more than a year, trading at $1.2284 at 7:25 a.m. London time.
Concerns about the shape of the U.K. economy are mounting, with investors and businesses taking note of new fiscal policies that will see taxes and business costs rise, as well as weak economic data prints out of Britain and sticky inflation.
Some of Europe’s biggest economies are set to publish economic data on Friday. France and Spain will release industrial production updates for November, while Italy will publish retail sales figures.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly lower as investors monitored Japanese data prints and reports that the People’s Bank of China would suspend treasury bond purchases.
On Wall Street, stock futures slid on Friday, as investors braced for the release of December nonfarm payrolls data, with economists polled by Reuters anticipating a slowdown in job openings from the previous month.
— CNBC’s Lim Hui Jie and Sean Conlon contributed to this European markets story.