Europe markets set to open mixed ahead of key inflation data

LONDON — European markets were headed for a mixed open on Friday, the last trading day of August, as investors looked to key inflation data from across the region and the U.S.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 was on track to add 36 points to 8,418, France's CAC was set to rise seven points to 7,648 and Italy's FTSE MIB was also headed for a higher open, adding 20 points to 34,347. Meanwhile, Germany's DAX was set to fall by 27 points to 18,880 after closing at a fresh record high on Thursday.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 had recorded a winning day on Thursday, with tech stocks leading gains as investors considered artificial intelligence heavyweight Nvidia's latest quarterly earnings report which was released earlier in the week.

A series of key inflation data is slated for Friday, in both Europe and the U.S.

Preliminary consumer price index figures for August are due out of France and Italy as well as for the euro zone. That comes after German and Spanish CPI reports released Thursday showed that inflationary pressures in the two countries are easing.

In Germany, preliminary annual headline on an EU-harmonized basis eased more than expected to 2% in August, compared with the 2.3% forecast and July's 2.6% reading. Spain's preliminary harmonized inflation came in at 2.4% for August, also lower than expected and down from than the previous month's 2.9% print.

Investors will be closely watching the data for clues about whether another interest rate cut from the European Central Bank could come in September.

Several other data points, including a final reading of the second-quarter gross domestic product in France and unemployment figures out of Germany, are also due Friday.

Inflation insights will also come from the U.S. in form of the all-important personal consumption expenditures price index, which is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure and could inform the central bank's monetary policy. The Fed has not yet started cutting interest rates, but markets are firmly pricing in a September cut.

U.S. futures were last little changed ahead of the data after several days of choppy trading action this week. Elsewhere, Asia-Pacific markets climbed on Friday.