Global Markets Mixed; U.S. Futures Slightly Higher Ahead of Jobs Data

By Dow Jones Newswires Staff

U.S. stock futures were modestly higher early in European trading, with the focus on monthly jobs data for May later.

Stocks on Wall Street fell Thursday, with Tesla a major drag amid the intensifying war of words between President Trump and Elon Musk. That took the gloss off what Trump described as a "very positive conclusion" to a phone call with China's Xi Jinping.

Stocks in Asia and Europe were mixed Friday, while the dollar rose a touch and Treasury yields edged lower.

• U.S. futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.4% and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.4%. Nasdaq stock futures rose 0.4%.

• Asian indexes closed mixed, with profit-taking setting in for some markets that have gained in recent sessions. Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.5%, whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.4%. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite was flat. South Korea's Kospi was closed for a public holiday. India's Sensex rose after the country's central bank surprised the market with a jumbo 50 basis points rate cut.

• In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 was flat in morning trading. France's CAC 40 declined 0.1% and Germany's DAX fell 0.2% after closing at a new record high Thursday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.2% after closing at its second-highest-ever level in the previous session.

• The two-year Treasury yield was last down one basis point to 3.913%, while the 10-year Treasury yield fell about 0.5 basis point to 4.388%, according to LSEG. "We expect the 10-year Treasury yield to hover around 4.50%, and the two-year yield to decline towards 3.50%," said SEB Research chief strategist Jussi Hiljanen in a note, resulting in a widening gap between short- and long-dated Treasury yields.

• The dollar recovered modestly after dropping to a six-week low against a basket of currencies and the euro on Thursday. That followed weak U.S. data and the European Central Bank signaling that it is nearing the end of interest-rate cuts. The DXY dollar index was up 0.1% to 98.827 against a basket of major currencies after hitting a six-week low of 98.351 on Thursday.

• Eurozone government-bond yields stabilized after a selloff during European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde's press conference Thursday when she signaled that Thursday's widely-anticipated 25-basis-point interest-rate cut took its policy stance close to the end of the easing cycle. The 10-year German Bund yield was recently down 1 basis point to 2.580%, according to Tradeweb

• Gold futures were up 0.25% at $3,383.50 a troy ounce and on track to finish the week higher on safe-haven buying and a weaker U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, oil prices dipped but were on track for a weekly gain of more than 3%, boosted by the positive noises from Trump and Xi Jinping over trade talks. Brent crude was last down 0.6% to $64.95 a barrel.

Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com