(RTTNews) - European stocks may rise on Friday, supported by gains in Asian stocks and higher U.S. index futures, as investors brace for U.S. jobs data scheduled to be released later in the day.
After swinging between gains and losses in early trading, most Asian stocks rose on Friday, lifting the MSCI Asia Pacific index up by about 0.2%. The Dow futures are rising modestly and crude oil prices are steady above $82 a barrel.
In corporate news, oil giant BP Plc said it has completed cementing operations at the damaged Gulf of Mexico well as part of the static kill procedure.
Cegedim SA , a global technology and services firm specializing in the healthcare field, reported an 8% rise in revenues for the second quarter of 2010.
French private equity firm Eurazeo SA said it is extending exclusive talks with Carlyle Group to sell its B&B Hotels business to the U.S. firm by Oct. 12.
Lender Natixis SA said it returned a EUR522 million net profit in the second quarter versus a EUR819 million loss in the year-ago period.
The European markets closed mixed to lower Thursday, weighed down by negative sentiment in the U.S. markets following an unexpected increase in weekly jobless claims that added to concerns over the economic recovery.
While the UK’s FTSE 100 Index closed down 0.38%, the German DAX Index and France’s CAC 40 edged up marginally. Earlier in the day, the European Central Bank as well as the Bank of England left their key interest rates unchanged.
On Wall Street, stocks ended mostly on the downside on Thursday following a surprise jump in weekly jobless claims and lower- than- expected comparable store sales growth by a number of major U.S. retailers.
All the major averages saw choppy movement in late session dealing, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a steeper loss than its counterparts. While the Nasdaq fell 0.46%, the Dow and the S&P 500 slipped around 0.1% each.
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