European Shares Poised For Firm Start In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening broadly higher on Friday, though tech shares may decline following Snap's warning of the effect of an economic slowdown on internet companies.

Snapchat owner snap missed Wall Street estimates for sales and disclosed a wider-than-expected loss in its second-quarter earnings report, causing a 25 percent drop in share price in extended trading.

American Express, Twitter and Verizon are among the prominent U.S. companies due to report their financial results before the U.S. opening bell.

Asian markets traded mixed, but were on course for their best week in months as bets on the size of U.S. rate hikes eased.

China's internet watchdog fined ride-hailing firm Didi Global more than 8 billion yuan ($1.2 billion), potentially signaling an end to a year-long cybersecurity probe.

The euro was on course for its biggest weekly rise against the dollar since late May after the European Central Bank (ECB) joined the global policy tightening wave to tackle inflation.

Gold was down while oil prices rose more than 1 percent in Asian trading on signs of supply tightness.

Retail sales data from the U.K. and flash Purchasing managers' survey results from both euro area and the U.K. are due later in the session, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.

U.S. stocks finished higher for a third straight session overnight as investors assessed a slew of earnings and disappointing economic data.

While jobless claims rose for the third straight week to hit a fresh eight-month high, regional manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted at a faster rate in July, separate reports showed.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite surged 1.4 percent in the wake of Tesla's remarkable quarterly results and the S&P 500 added 1 percent to close at its highest level since June 9, while the Dow gained half a percent.

European stocks ended mostly higher on Thursday as worries over an energy supply crunch eased and the ECB surprised markets with a bigger-than-expected half-point interest rate hike, marking the first rate increase in over a decade.

The pan European Stoxx 600 inched up 0.4 percent. The German DAX eased 0.3 percent, while France's CAC 40 index rose 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 finished marginally higher.