AMERICAN MARKETS OUTLOOK: U.S. stock markets are set to open lower Friday, in line with U.S. futures trading, ahead of the nonfarm payrolls data due at 1230 GMT, said Angus Campbell at spreadbettor Finspreads.
"With everyone's attention now being on whether the U.S. economy is due for a soft or hard landing in 2007, the nonfarm figure is an important one," Campbell said. If the figure is below expectations, there may be profit-taking later Friday, he said.
Finspreads is calling the Dow Jones Industrial Average to open 10 points lower at 11,856, the S&P 500 to open 2 points lower at 1351 and the Nasdaq 100 as much as 5 points lower at 1685.
EUROPEAN MARKETS: European markets are steady midday ahead of the U.S. jobs report, with gains from airlines easyJet and Aer Lingus compensating for weakness from telecommunications companies Vodafone and Telecom Italia.
London's FTSE 100 is up 0.1% at 6012.60 as investors wait for the U.S. jobs data. Lloyds TSB and Barclays traded higher after a report added to recent merger and acquisition speculation in the sector by suggesting that one of them could receive a merger approach from Spain's BBVA.
Frankfurt's DAX is up 0.2% at 6084.86 in thin dealings as the market looks to Friday's U.S. labor data for its next direction. A trader said some investors may take profits ahead of the long U.S. Columbus Day weekend.
Paris' CAC 40 is down 0.04% at 5286.58.
Bunds and gilts are higher after a mixed bag of manufacturing and industrial production figures from the U.K. Manufacturing output surprised on the upside, rising 0.4% on the month versus a forecast rise of +0.2%, while industrial production was up 0.1% against the expected 0.2% rise. December bunds are up 0.18 at 118.30 and December gilts are up 0.18 at 110.12.
The dollar is stronger in Europe at midday, despite some views that U.S. non-farm payrolls will be weaker than expected and ease pressure on the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy. By 1025 GMT, the dollar had strengthened to Y118.00 while the euro slipped back to $1.2680 as investors remained disappointed that ECB President Jean Claude Trichet hadn't been more hawkish in comments after the bank raised rates by a quarter of a percentage point Thursday. The pound weakened to $1.8760 following the U.K. industrial production and manufacturing output data.
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TOP STORIES:
VIRIDIAN AGREES GBP1.62B TAKEOVER BY ELECTRICINVEST: Northern Ireland's power distributor Viridian Group PLC (VRD.LN) said it's agreed to be taken over by ElectricInvest Acquisitions Ltd. in a deal valuing Viridian at GBP1.62 billion. (By Quentin Fottrell)
EU CONFIRMS AIR PASSENGER DATA DEAL WITH U.S.: The European Union said it has reached a deal with the U.S. over the exchange of data on air passenger records. (By William Echikson)
SEVERSTAL CONFIRMS LONDON LISTING PLAN: Russian steel company OAO Severstal (CHMF.RS) confirmed that it is planning to list global depositary receipts on the London Stock Exchange by the end of the year. (By Steve McGrath)
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INSIGHT & ANALYSIS FROM DOW JONES NEWSWIRES:
=FOREX FOCUS: Chances are that U.S. non-farm payrolls will come in below market expectations later Friday and raise investor concerns about the U.S. job market, but such disappointing economic news may have little negative impact on the dollar just now, given the concerns Federal Reserve officials voiced about inflation pressures earlier this week. (By Nicholas Hastings)
=ASSET CLASS: U.S. Treasury bonds are discounting too much bad news about the property market. So say Jason Rotenberg and Amit Srivastava at Bridgewater Associates, a large fund management firm. (By Alan Mattich)
=THE SKEPTIC: In diplomatic terms, the Lachmann report on Euronext merger options is a huge success. (By Digby Larner)
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STILL TO COME:
COUNTRY PERIOD
ET/GMT
0830/1230 US Sep Non-farm Payrolls
0830/1230 US Sep Unemployment Rate
0940/1340 US Sep ECRI Inflation Gauge
1110/1510 US President Bush speaks on job growth and
the econ in Washington
1400/1800 US Bond markets close early ahead of Columbus
Day holiday
1455/1855 US President Bush speaks on Hispanic Heritage
Month at the White House
1500/1900 US Aug Consumer Credit
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OTHER NEWS:
Russian mining giant OAO Norilsk Nickel (GMKN.RS) said it would buy back almost $1 billion worth of its own stock after its net profit more than doubled in the first half of the year. (By Geoffrey T. Smith)
Germany's manufacturers are on a roll. Industrial orders rose unexpectedly in August, posting the third straight monthly increase, data from the Economics Ministry showed Friday. (Data Snap by Nina Koeppen)
U.K. manufacturing output increased for the fourth consecutive month, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed. This is the first time in more than seven years it has done so. (Data Snap by Corey Boles)
Most of the world's leading developed economies are heading for a slowdown, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's leading indicator. (Data Snap by Paul Hannon)
Air France-KLM (AKH) said its traffic rose 5.9% in September, taking passenger growth for the world's largest airline by revenue to 6.4% for its fiscal first half, its most important in terms of earnings. (By Greg Keller)
EasyJet PLC (EZJ.LN), the U.K. budget airline, said it now expects full year pretax profit to "slightly" exceed its previous guidance for a 40%-50% rise, following a strong close to the financial year. (By Rod Stone)
The Vaduz-based bank said it hopes to begin operating in Singapore and Dubai by the end of 2007, provided licenses are granted to plan. (By Katharina Bart)
Car parts maker Wagon PLC (WAGN.LN) warned that lower-than-expected recent trading with its French customers will "materially impact" performance in the full year ended Sep. 30, sending its shares sharply down. (By Elizabeth Cowley)
Swiss flavor and fragrance maker Givaudan SA (GIVN.VX) said sales rose 5.5% during the first nine months of the year, driven by solid growth in its fragrance business. (By Dermot Doherty)
UK business travel firm Hogg Robinson confirmed the successful relaunch of its initial public offering. (By Victoria Howley)
Nordic stock exchange operator OMX AB (OMX.SK) said it had bought a 10% stake in Norwegian bourse Oslo Boers Holding ASA (OSLO.NO). (By Louise Nordstrom)
AIM-listed Stem Cell Sciences (SCS.LN) said it will also list on the Australian Stock Exchange, in a bid to diversify and expand its shareholder base and access to capital. (By Enda Curran)
