European stocks may open flat to slightly higher on Friday amid reassurances from the Fed that inflation would not spiral out of control.<\/p>\n
The dollar edged lower as benchmark 10-year Treasury yields held close to Thursday’s two-week trough near 1.6 percent, pressured by fresh dovish comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell and weaker-than-expected initial weekly jobless claims data released overnight. <\/p>\n
Gold held near a more than one-month peak scaled in the previous session and is on track to post its first weekly gain in three amid dollar weakness.<\/p>\n
Oil traded near $60 a barrel after Saudi Arabia defended the OPEC+ plan to increase output and said the alliance was nimble enough to change course if necessary.<\/p>\n
Asian markets<\/span> are trading mostly lower as Japan’s Covid-19 cases climbed and Chinese inflation data surprised to the upside. <\/p>\n U.S. stocks rose overnight after Fed Chair Jerome Powell downplayed the risk of inflation, arguing that upward pressure on prices will be temporary and the central bank would react if inflation expectations start “moving persistently and materially” above a target threshold. <\/p>\n The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index jumped 1 percent, while the S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent and the Dow inched up 0.2 percent.<\/p>\n European markets ended Thursday’s session on a firm note as traders cheered upbeat data out of the U.S., Europe and Asia and reacted positively to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March meeting. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, minutes from the ECB’s recent meeting showed policymakers debated a smaller increase in bond purchases and agreed to front-load the buying this quarter on condition it could be cut later if conditions allow.<\/p>\n The pan European Stoxx 600 advanced 0.6 percent. The German DAX edged up 0.2 percent and France’s CAC 40 index rose 0.6 percent, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.8 percent, buoyed by optimism over easing lockdown restrictions in Britain. <\/p>\n