European stocks and Wall Street futures wavered on Friday, as investors watching for signals of the future path of interest rates cautiously awaited the release of December’s eurozone inflation figures and a crucial US jobs report.
The regional Stoxx Europe 600 traded flat while London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.2 per cent. Contracts tracking Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 dipped slightly while those tracking the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.2 per cent ahead of the New York open.
US equities sold off in the previous session after private sector employment in the world’s biggest economy rose by 235,000 in December, ahead of estimates, according to payroll processor ADP. Figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics later on Friday are expected to add further weight to the Federal Reserve’s arguments that the jobs market remains too tight to justify lower borrowing costs.