European Shares Seen Up With Eyes On Beijing Stimulus

(RTTNews) - European stocks may edge higher at open on Friday as investors await details of China's forthcoming stimulus at the conclusion of a week-long session of China's top legislative body, the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, later in the day.

Possible measures may include support for local government debt and consumer spending.

The U.S. economic calendar remains light, with trading later in the day likely to be impacted by reaction to the University of Michigan's preliminary report on consumer sentiment for November, which includes readings on consumers' inflation expectations.

Asian markets gave up early gains to turn mixed due to uncertainty coming from the U.S. tariffs under incoming president Donald Trump.

The dollar weakened after a volatile week as Republican leaders projected confidence Thursday that they will keep control of the U.S. House as more races were decided in their favor.

Treasuries ticked lower after rallying in the U.S. trading session.

Gold dipped below $2,700 per ounce after climbing more than 1 percent in the previous session as Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank will evaluate data to adjust the "pace and destination" of rates.

Oil prices fell in Asian trade but were on track for a weekly gain.

U.S. stocks closed higher overnight while Treasury yields fell alongside the dollar after the Fed delivered a 25-basis point interest-rate cut and signaled no intention to skip cutting rates.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed during his post-meeting press conference that rates are not on "any preset course" and that the central bank will make future decisions "meeting by meeting" to deal with the risks to both sides of the dual mandate.

Investors also prepared for a "Trump 2.0 era" and "America First" economic stance, but there were some concerns about the effect planned tariff increases will have on inflation and interest rates.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.5 percent, and the S&P 500 added 0.7 percent to score the second record finish in a row while the Dow finished marginally lower. European stocks regained ground on Thursday, boosted by technology and resource stocks after the Bank of England cut interest rates as expected but cautioned future reductions were likely to be gradual.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.6 percent. The German DAX rallied 1.7 percent and France's CAC 40 climbed 0.8 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 0.3 percent.