European stocks may open on a sluggish note Friday as investors fret about slowing economic growth and worsening ties between Washington and Beijing.<\/p>\n
China is bracing for a massive wave of coronavirus<\/span> cases from XBB variants. <\/p>\n Sino-U.S. tensions remain in focus after the U.S. State Department warned that China was capable of launching cyber-attacks against critical infrastructure, including oil and gas pipelines and rail systems.<\/p>\n Asian markets<\/span> traded mostly higher, with Japan’s Nikkei trading just below 33-year year highs as an upbeat outlook from Nvidia helped lift shares of chipmakers and data showed core inflation in Tokyo slowed in May.<\/p>\n U.S. debt ceiling talks continue, with Reuters reporting that President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy are closing in on a deal that would raise the government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling for two years while capping spending on most items.<\/p>\n The dollar eased but was on track for a third weekly gain on expectations that U.S. interest rates could remain higher for longer than initially expected. <\/p>\n Gold edged up while oil extended steep losses from the previous session amid conflicting messages from Russia and Saudi Arabia ahead of the next OPEC+ policy meeting.<\/p>\n Trading later in the day may be impacted by U.S. reports on durable goods orders and consumer sentiment.<\/p>\n Market participants also await a report on personal income and spending, which includes a reading on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n U.S. markets ended broadly higher overnight as a blowout forecast from chipmaker Nvidia offset U.S. debt ceiling and interest-rate worries. <\/p>\n In economic news, Q1 GDP was revised up while weekly jobless claims rose modestly in the week ended May 20th.<\/p>\n The Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.7 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.9 percent while the Dow slipped 0.1 percent. <\/p>\n