European shares turned higher on Friday, putting the brakes on five straight days of declines, ahead of closely watched US jobs data which may offer clues about how far the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates.
The regional Stoxx Europe 600 gauge added 0.5 per cent in early dealings, after closing 1.8 per cent lower on Thursday. London’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.2 per cent. In Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.8 per cent, trimming earlier losses, while Japan’s Topix fell 0.3 per cent.
Those moves came at the end of a gloomy week for global equities, which were on course for their worst week since mid-June. Hawkish rhetoric from Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium last Friday set the tone for higher borrowing costs to come, stoking worries about rate-setters around the world inducing a deep recession as they tighten monetary policy to curb inflation.