European Shares Likely To Drift Lower; US CPI Revisions Eyed

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening broadly lower on Friday as investors watch the latest batch of earnings and digest policymakers' remarks on interest rates.

Investors eye U.S. CPI revisions and more speeches from Fed policymakers ahead of next week's January CPI inflation report.

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said Thursday that the central bank has time to be patient on cutting rates.

Fresh labor market data on Thursday underscored U.S. economic resilience and forced traders to pare back rate cut expectations.

Asian stocks traded mixed, with markets in China, Indonesia, Taiwan and South Korea closed for public holidays.

Japan's Nikkei index hit a fresh 34-year high after Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda said, "chances are high for accommodative conditions to stay even if negative rates are abandoned."

Gold edged down slightly in light trading as the dollar edged towards a fourth weekly advance on signs of U.S. economic resilience.

Oil traded lower after rallying over 2 percent on Thursday to extend gains for a fourth straight session amid signs of a broadening conflict in the Middle East.

Destatis is scheduled to publish Germany's final consumer price data for January later in the day.

The initial estimate showed that consumer price inflation softened to 2.9 percent from 3.7 percent in December.

U.S. stocks eked out modest gains overnight as investors reacted to better-than-expected earnings, fresh Fed comments and higher yields following a large auction of 30-year government bonds.

In economic releases, data showed applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell for the first time in three weeks.

The S&P 500 touched the milestone of 5,000 for the first time and set a record high before finishing marginally higher.

The Dow and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

European stocks closed mixed on Thursday amid heightened geopolitical tensions and growing risks of deflation in China due to weaker-than-expected economic recovery.

The pan European STOXX 600 finished marginally lower. The German DAX rose 0.3 percent and France's CAC 40 climbed 0.7 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slipped 0.4 percent.