European Shares Seen Lower At Open

European stocks are seen opening lower on Friday, with renewed concerns over the Federal Reserve’s tightening and U.S.-Russian tensions over Ukraine likely to weigh on sentiment.

A disappointing earnings report from Netflix may also serve to keep underlying sentiment cautious.

Asian markets fell after a late-afternoon sell-off on Thursday sent major U.S. indexes deeper into losing territory for the year.

The dollar took a breather as rising Treasury yields stalled against the backdrop of high inflation and concerns about a growth slowdown.

Geopolitical tensions remained on investors’ radar following reports that Washington is allowing some Baltic states to send U.S.-made weapons to Ukraine.

Oil prices fell about 2 percent in Asian trade, retreating from 7-year highs after a surprise gain in U.S. crude stockpiles.

Gold steadied and headed for a second weekly gain as investors anxiously await next week’s Fed meeting for any updates on the existing plans for rate hikes. Bitcoin fell below $39,000 levels.

ECB President Lagarde is scheduled to speak later in the day and any commentary relating to the economic outlook, inflation or monetary policy may influence trading.

U.S. stocks gave up early gains to end lower for the third straight session on Thursday amid concerns around rising bond yields and tighter monetary policy.

The Dow dropped 0.9 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.3 percent and the S&P 500 shed 1.1 percent.

European stocks finished broadly higher on Thursday as minutes from the December ECB meeting confirmed the dovishness that some members have been touting for the last few days.

The pan European Stoxx 600 rose half a percent. The German DAX gained 0.7 percent and France’s CAC 40 index added 0.3 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 edged down marginally.

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