PARIS (Reuters) – Wall Street is expected to open flat on Friday, while European markets are up mid-session ahead of a crucial U.S. employment indicator.

New York index futures suggest a mixed opening for Wall Street, with the Dow Jones and Standard & Poor’s 500 showing no direction, while the Nasdaq is up 0.14%.

In Paris, the CAC 40 rose 0.3% to 7,719.24 points at around 11:00 GMT. The Dax in Frankfurt gained 0.83%, compared to 0.10% for the FTSE in London.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.33%, compared to 0.39% for the EuroStoxx 50 and 0.31% for the Stoxx 600.

The monthly report on US labor markets will be released at 12:30 GMT by the Labor Department. The consensus expects the report to show a moderate cooling in labor markets, one of the main sources of inflation in recent months.

“Today’s employment report will provide important information to the markets. Jerome Powell and other members of the Fed have made it clear that a sudden and unexpected deterioration in the employment market would be a reason to adjust monetary policy and rates,” underlines Alexandre Baradez, head of market analysis at IG France.

The markets also welcomed the latest American data, published on Wednesday, which suggested that activity was returning to normal, with the ISM services indicator and private sector job creations having surprised on the downside.

The second round of the French legislative elections adds to the markets’ caution. If the prospect of an absolute majority for the National Rally in the Assembly is fading, the absence of a clear majority would complicate political decision-making.

Across the Channel, British markets are digesting the historic victory of Labour in the July 4 elections, after 14 years of Conservative rule.

VALUES TO FOLLOW ON WALL STREET

Tesla vehicles are eligible for public procurement in China for the first time, according to a statement from local authorities.

Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management have raised their offer for department store chain Macy’s to about $6.9 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

VALUES TO FOLLOW IN EUROPE

The technology sector is gaining ground after Samsung, the world’s largest maker of memory chips, smartphones and TVs, estimated its second-quarter operating profit will rise more than 15-fold. Large orders from Aixtron are also supporting the sector.

The technology segment grew by 1.08%, with Infineon, STMicroelectronics and Soitec gaining 3.14%, 2.95% and 6.4% respectively. Aixtron soared by 16.3%.

Atos was volatile on Friday, with the group now up 3.27% after announcing on Friday that it had secured short-term financing and was targeting a restructuring deal in July.

Eurofins Scientific is up 3.79% after the group issued new denials on Friday to accusations of financial wrongdoing by Muddy Waters.

Varta, a German battery producer in the process of restructuring, rose 21.75% after announcing the day before that it had started discussions with Porsche about a potential investment in its large-format lithium-ion battery division.

British housebuilders are gaining ground as investors welcome the Labour prime minister’s plans for the construction sector. Analysts expect Persimmon (+3.11%), Taylor Wimpey (+2.86%) and Vistry (+3.65%) to be the biggest beneficiaries of his plan, which aims to increase the supply of affordable housing.

Amplifon fell 5.11% after Equita lowered its outlook on the Italian hearing aid company, citing weaker market dynamics.

RATE

Yields are falling in Europe amid caution ahead of the monthly US jobs report, due at 12:30 GMT.

The yield on the German ten-year bond weakened by 2.4 bp to 2.561%, while that of the two-year rate lost 1.1 bp to 2.932%.

The 10-year OAT saw its yield decline by 3.4 bp to 3.246%.

The ten-year Treasury yield eroded by 1.2 bp to 4.3351%, while the two-year was stable at 4.685%.

CHANGES

The dollar continued its decline, triggered by worse-than-expected US activity figures, ahead of the monthly employment report.

The dollar fell by 0.14% against a basket of reference currencies, the euro strengthened by 0.12% to 1.0823 dollars, the pound sterling by 0.23% to 1.2786 dollars.

OIL

The barrel is hesitating, with markets digesting the latest data that raises fears of a slowdown in the American economy, although other indicators suggest growth in oil demand.

Brent fell by 0.13% to $87.32 per barrel, while American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) hesitated at $83.93.

(Written by Corentin Chappron, edited by Kate Entringer)

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