European Shares Seen Sharply Lower As Geopolitical Tensions Spike

(RTTNews) - European stocks may tumble at open on Friday after Israeli missiles targeted a site in Isfahan province in Iran, raising fears of a widening conflict across the Middle East.

However, Iran's state-run media reported that there was no missile attack and the explosions heard in Isfahan were the result of the activation of the missile defenses.

U.S. rate cut uncertainty may also weigh on markets as a slew of Fed officials warned that increased inflation will delay rate cuts.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic expects a single rate cut in 2024 but went as far as to say that he's open to a rate hike if progress on inflation stalls.

New York Fed President John Williams said a rate hike is not his base case and incoming data will determine the timing of rate cuts this year.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari hinted at holding off interest-rate cuts until after 2024.

On the earnings front, streaming giant Netflix topped earnings expectations but announced that it would stop disclosing subscriber numbers each quarter, sending its shares sharply lower in after-hours trading.

Credit card giant American Express will unveil its earnings results before the U.S. opening bell later today.

Asian markets traded sharply lower on inflation and interest rate concerns as crude oil prices surged over 4 percent on concern about potential oil supply disruptions.

Gold surged to a new record high despite a resurgent dollar, which headed towards a second straight week of gains.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as two-year Treasury yields climbed toward the 5 percent mark on hawkish comments from Fed officials and data showing unexpectedly faster growth in Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity in April and a resilient labor market.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed half a percent to extend losses for a fifth day running and reach their lowest closing levels in almost two months, while the Dow finished marginally higher.

European stocks rose on Thursday on expectations the European Central Bank (ECB) will start cutting interest rates soon rather than taking cues from the Federal Reserve.

The pan European STOXX 600 edged up 0.2 percent. The German DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both rose around 0.4 percent while France's CAC 40 added half a percent.