European Shares Poised For Steady Open

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open on a firm note Friday after stocks on Wall Street set another record overnight following a mixed set of data on the economy.

Asian markets followed Wall Street higher, with Japan's Nikkei average trading near a record high on dovish BOJ bets.

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said today that there are various opinions in the market and that it is up to the Bank of Japan to decide whether and when to tighten its ultra-loose monetary policy.

Gold held steady above the $2,000 per ounce level, buoyed by a weakening dollar and lower Treasury yields.

Oil was largely unchanged near the highest level in three months amid signs that OPEC+ members are complying with supply cuts.

In economic releases, U.K. retail sales for January are due later in the day. Sales are forecast to grow 1.5 percent on month, in contrast to the 3.2 percent decrease in December.

France's statistical office INSEE publishes final consumer price data for January. Consumer price inflation is seen at 3.1 percent, unchanged from the flash estimate.

Across the Atlantic, reports on producer price inflation, consumer sentiment and housing starts may garner investor attention.

U.S. stocks advanced overnight as weak retail sales data sent Treasury yields down and added to bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in coming months.

Industrial production unexpectedly slipped in January while fewer Americans filed for jobless claims last week, separate reports revealed.

The S&P 500 gained 0.6 percent to reach a new record closing high while the Dow rallied 0.9 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite inched up 0.3 percent.

European stocks closed higher Thursday on the back of upbeat corporate earnings and speculation that the Bank of England will cut interest rates in the second quarter to pull the country out of recession.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.7 percent. The German DAX rose 0.6 percent, France's CAC 40 climbed 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.4 percent.