European equity markets grappled with uncertainty on Friday, with bond yields remaining high in anticipation of the crucial U.S. employment report set to be released later in the day.
The nonfarm payroll figures are expected to show a slowdown in job growth for December, yet the unemployment rate is predicted to hold steady at 4.2 percent. This would reinforce the Federal Reserve's careful approach regarding interest rate cuts this year.
In light of ongoing apprehensions about President Trump's policies, current Fed funds futures data indicate only about a 7 percent probability of a quarter-point rate cut at the forthcoming Federal Reserve policy meeting this month.
Focusing on Europe, the European Central Bank is anticipated to reduce interest rates at least four times in 2025 to bolster the region's sluggish economy.
On a relatively quiet day economically, French industrial production saw a 0.2 percent increase in November compared to October, according to statistics from INSEE, despite a previous decline of 0.3 percent. Economists had anticipated a 0.1 percent monthly decrease.
Another report showed an unexpected 0.3 percent rise in French household consumption during November, counteracting the revised 0.3 percent drop in October. This was in contrast to forecasts predicting a 0.1 percent increase.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was slightly down at 515.75 after gaining 0.4 percent in the previous session.
Germany's DAX index remained relatively unchanged at 20,335, as yields on 10-year German bunds reached their peak in six months.
France's CAC 40 saw a slight increase of 0.2 percent, while the UK's FTSE 100 experienced marginal gains.
The British pound slightly recovered from earlier losses but continued trading below $1.23.
In corporate developments, ASML International gained nearly 0.5 percent following the announcement that Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC reported better-than-expected quarterly sales.
Ubisoft Entertainment tumbled 8 percent after the company postponed the release of its major franchise, Assassin's Creed, once again.
Philips climbed 1.5 percent after naming Jie Xue as Chief Business Leader of Precision Diagnosis and Özlem Fidanci as Chief of the International Region.
Nordex SE increased by over 2 percent after the German wind turbine company disclosed receiving orders for 259 MW of wind turbines from four different customers in Spain.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
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