European Shares Seen Lower As Investors Await US PCE Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks are set for a weak opening Friday as focus shifts to U.S. personal income and spending data for November due later in the day, which includes the Fed's preferred readings on consumer price inflation.

The report assumes significance after the Fed's new projections showed officials expect the core PCE to be stuck at 2.5 percent through 2025, significantly higher than the Fed's 2 percent target.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index due later in the day may also offer additional clues on the U.S. economic outlook.

Closer home, retail sales and public sector finance figures from the U.K. and business and consumer confidence data from Italy are due later in the day.

U.S. stock futures drifted lower after the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a Trump-backed House Republican bill to fund the government for three months and avoid a government shutdown. Government funding will lapse Friday night without congressional action.

Asian markets traded mixed as China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged as expected at the monthly fixing.

China's one-year bond yield slumped to 1 percent for the first time since the global financial crisis as traders increased bets on additional monetary easing next year.

The Japanese yen erased losses after a key measure of inflation accelerated in November because of higher energy costs and Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato warned against excess moves in the currency market.

The South Korean won sank to a 15-year low, the Canadian dollar tumbled to its weakest in more than four years and the Australian and New Zealand dollars hit two-year lows after the Federal Reserve struck a hawkish tone at its December meeting.

Treasury yields were little changed in Asian trade while the dollar held near a two-year high and was on track for a weekly gain.

Oil and gold prices headed for a weekly decline because of dollar strength amid expectations for prolonged high U.S. interest rates.

U.S. stocks ended flat overnight after steep declines in the previous session on Fed's hawkish tilt.

Largely positive data reinforced the Fed's cautious approach to further rate cuts, with weekly initial jobless claims falling more than expected, existing home sales spiking to an eight-month high and Q3 GDP revised to show a 3.1 percent increase from the previously reported 2.8 percent pace.

The Dow inched up marginally after hitting its lowest level in over a month the previous day. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 ended with a negative bias.

European stocks hit multi-week lows on Thursday after a hawkish forecast from the Fed and slightly dovish Bank of England rate decision.

The pan European STOXX 600 fell 1.5 percent to hit a three-week low. The German DAX dipped 1.4 percent, France's CAC 40 shed 1.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gave up 1.1 percent.