European stocks seen modestly higher ahead of key PMIs, after mixed U.S. data

• Euro zone flash PMI (purchasing managers' index) readings for August are expected at 9 a.m. London time, and should offer investors key insight into the bloc's economic recovery prospects.
• U.S. President Donald Trump's administration declined to acknowledge claims by China's commerce ministry that negotiators from Washington and Beijing would be returning to the table on a "phase one" trade deal.

European stocks are set to open cautiously higher Friday ahead of key economic data out of the euro zone and the U.K., as geopolitical tensions remain in focus.

Britain's FTSE 100 is seen around 10 points higher at 6,023, Germany's DAX is set to climb around 71 points to 12,901 and France's CAC 40 is expected to gain around 26 points to 4,937.

Euro zone flash PMI (purchasing managers' index) readings for August are expected at 9 a.m London time, and should offer investors key insight into the bloc's economic recovery prospects. With the headline composite reading having exceeded expectations to hit an expansionary 54.8 in July, analysts polled by Reuters expect a modest rise to 54.9 in August.

PMIs are also due out of the U.K. at 9:30 a.m, while August's flash consumer confidence estimate is published at 3 p.m.

European markets look set to receive a cautiously positive handover from Asia, where investors digested mixed jobs data out of the U.S. The U.S. Labor Department said Thursday that initial weekly jobless claims stateside came in above 1 million, higher than a Dow Jones estimate of 923,000, but continuing claims are in consistent decline.

Market focus is also attuned to geopolitical tensions, with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration declining to acknowledge claims by China's commerce ministry that negotiators from Washington and Beijing would be returning to the table to discuss the two countries' "phase one" trade deal in the coming days.

In Europe, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was hospitalized Thursday due to suspected poisoning, with German media reporting that a plane had been chartered to bring President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic to Germany for treatment.

Minutes from the last meeting of the European Central Bank showed that policymakers debated the flexibility of the landmark Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme.

In corporate news, Bayer announced Thursday that it would pay $1.6 billion to settle a majority of claims in the U.S. relating to its birth control device, while a U.S. judge dismissed parts of a lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that Volkswagen defrauded U.S. investors during its highly-publicized diesel emissions saga.

Source: Read Full Article