|
 European stocks were seen following suit, with the pan-European
FTSEurofirst 300 index of top-European shares set for its biggest
weekly gain since July.
Financial spreadbetters expected Britain's FTSE 100 to open 0.5
percent higher, Germany's DAX to open up by as much as 0.8 percent,
and France's CAC 40 to open up 0.9 percent.
U.S. stock futures rose 0.3 percent, suggesting a slightly firmer
opening on Wall Street later in the session.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up
about 0.2 percent, below its session highs but still on track to
rise more than 3 percent for the week.
Chinese shares erased earlier gains, with the CSI300 index and
Shanghai Composite Index down 0.9 percent and 0.8 percent,
respectively.
Investors are awaiting Chinese industrial output, retail sales and
investment data on Sunday for clues on whether the world's
second-largest economy is continuing to lose momentum, which could
help set the tone for trading next week.
Major U.S. stock indexes posted modest gains on Thursday, but
European stocks broke a three-day run of gains with a drop of nearly
1.5 percent
Japan's Nikkei stock index closed down 0.2 percent, but pared
earlier losses and ended a choppy week 2.6 percent higher, even as
investors remained cautious.
"We could still see volatile trading next week on speculation about
the Fed rate hike," said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at
Mizuho Securities, who expected investors to continue unwinding
their positions.
"Even if stocks jump, we don't know if and how long the rally will
last so it's safe to reduce positions in an environment like this,"
Miura said.
Government data released before the market open showed that large
Japanese manufacturers' sentiment turned positive in the
July-September quarter, suggesting that companies were taking
China's recent slowdown in stride.
YUAN FIRMS, DOLLAR STEADIES
U.S. data on Thursday suggested the labor market was gaining
momentum in early September as fewer Americans filed for weekly
unemployment benefits, but a separate report showed weak inflation,
further clouding the outlook for what the Fed will decide to do at
its Sept. 16-17 policy meeting.
"Based on the performance of the U.S. economy alone, the Fed should
raise rates but they do not operate in a vacuum," said Kathy Lien,
managing director at BK Asset Management in New York.
[to top of second column] |
Considering volatile global equities, a dovish European Central Bank
and actions by other central banks, it will be difficult for the Fed
to act, she said in a note to clients.
The dollar rose about 0.1 percent against the yen to 120.75, though
it gave up ground late in the Asian session to the euro, which added
about 0.1 percent from U.S. levels to $1.1294.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six
major rivals, was steady from U.S. trading at 95.454.
China's yuan firmed against the dollar in onshore trading on Friday.
The greenback came under pressure overnight as the yuan shot higher
in offshore markets on what was suspected to be rare intervention by
Chinese state banks, likely taking aim at speculators betting on
further falls in currency after its surprise devaluation last month.
In commodities, U.S. crude oil futures gave back some of their
overnight gains after top exporter Saudi Arabia said it saw no need
for a producer summit to defend prices.
U.S. crude was down about 0.6 percent in Asian trading at $45.66 a
barrel, after rallying 4 percent on U.S. Energy Information
Administration data that showed strong demand for gasoline.
Brent, which gained 2.8 percent in the previous session, was down
about 0.1 percent at $48.86.
Spot gold edged down from U.S. levels to $1,110.30 an ounce, on
track to drop about 1 percent for the week, its third straight
weekly fall.
(Additional reporting by Ayai Tomisawa in Tokyo; Editing by Shri
Navaratnam & Kim Coghill)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
