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European stock market futures point to a positive start after the U.K. and U.S. confirmed a trade agreement, and investors look ahead to the U.S.-China trade negotiations set to begin this weekend.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index is expected to open higher by 0.3%, according to futures data from FactSet. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 is also set to rise by 0.3%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 may open higher by 0.2%.
Investors will be digesting earnings updates from German lender Commerzbank and Italy's Mediobanca, both acquisition targets for UniCredit. Portugal's utility company EDP is also revealing its quarterly results after a major power outage earlier this month.
On Thursday, most major European indexes closed higher. However, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 bucked the trend to tumble 0.32% after snapping its record winning streak on Wednesday.
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Friday as investors parsed China's April trade data.
China's exports surged in April even as businesses bore the brunt of U.S. tariffs that kicked into higher gear last month, while imports narrowed declines as Beijing stepped up stimulus.
On Wall Street, futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 52 points, or 0.1%. Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.08%, while S&P 500 futures were off about 0.1%.
Commerzbank earnings beat expectations as profit jumps to highest level since 2011
A Commerzbank AG bank branch in the financial district of Frankfurt, Germany, on Sept. 12, 2024.
Krisztian Bocsi | Bloomberg | Getty Images
German lender Commerzbank said Friday that its first-quarter net profit rose by 12% year on year to 834 million euros ($937 million).
Analysts had been expecting a net result of 738.5 million euros, according to LSEG data.
Commerzbank said the three months to March saw the bank's highest quarterly profit since 2011.
Revenues for the three-month period also rose by 12% from the previous year to reach 3.1 billion euros — above the 2.96 billion euros expected by markets.
Commerzbank confirmed its full-year guidance, saying it continued to aim for net profit of 2.8 billion euros in 2025, which it said was expected to fall to 2.4 billion euros after restructuring expenses.
— Chloe Taylor
China’s April exports jump 8.1% to beat estimates despite U.S. tariffs; import decline slows
China's exports surged in April even as businesses bore the brunt of U.S. tariffs that kicked into higher gear last month, while imports narrowed declines as Beijing stepped up stimulus.
Exports jumped 8.1% last month in U.S. dollar terms from a year earlier, according to data released by customs authority Friday, sharply beating with Reuters' poll estimates of a 1.9% rise.
Imports slumped by 0.2% in April from a year earlier, compared with the economists' expectations of a 5.9% drop.
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—Anniek Bao
English (US)