Title: European Stock Futures Mixed; UK GDP Data, U.S. Inflation, Ukraine War in Focus

Mar 11, 2022 01:57AM ET

By: AnalysisWatch

European stock markets are forecast to open fractionally higher on Friday, recovering from the previous session's heavy losses. At the same time, investors are processing increasing inflation in the US, UK growth data, and the ongoing war in Ukraine.

At 2 am, DAX futures in Germany were trading 0.1% higher, CAC 40 futures in France rose 0.6%, and FTSE 100 futures in the UK were higher by 0.9%.

European stock markets closed sharply lower on Thursday, with the DAX and CAC 40 falling nearly 3% after talks between the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine, backed by Turkey, failed to produce a ceasefire in the conflict between the two countries.

Markets have been roiled in recent weeks as Western countries imposed a series of sanctions on Russia as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine, sending commodity prices, particularly oil, to record highs.

Further action is expected on Friday after Reuters reported that the United States, the European Union, and other allied countries want to strip Russia of its "most favored nation" status in trade. This would enable the imposition of tariffs on a vast array of Russian goods and inflict further injury on the country's economy.

Data from Britain on Friday showed the country's economy grew 0.8% in January, a stronger-than-expected rebound after contracting 0.2% in December.

Financial markets expect the Bank of England to hike interest rates from 0.5% to pre-pandemic levels of 0.75% next week in the wake of increasing price pressures, and this rebound will broadly back up those expectations.

Oil prices stabilized on Friday, but we're still on the verge of their biggest weekly decline since November. This was due to uncertainty over global production levels in a week marked by rumors of potential supply increases, especially from the United Arab Emirates and additional sanctions against Russia.