European stock markets are expected to open sharply lower after Jerome Powell's restrictive remarks. The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 3,928.03 points (+0.80%), the CAC 40 at 6,715.10 points (+1.36%), the DAX 40 at 14.502.41 points (+0.98%), the FTSE 100 at 7,627.95 points (-0.02%), the SMI at 12,301.33 points (-0.07%), the AEX at 729.05 points (+0.47%), the BEL 20 at 4.266.01 points (+0.20%), the IBEX 35 at 8,814.60 points (+0.51%), the DJIA at 34,792.76 points (-1.05%), the Nasdaq at 13,174.65 points (-2.07%), the S&P 500 at 4,393.66 points (-1.48%) and the Nikkei 225 at 27,082.11 points (-1.71%).

In terms of exchange rates, the change from the close in New York, EUR/USD at 1.0844 (+0.08%), EUR/JPY at 139.05 (-0.02%) and USD/JPY at 128.23 (-0.13%).

Investors will be watching Friday for the first estimates of the French manufacturing and services PMIs for April. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal expect growth to slow in both sectors, with the manufacturing activity index at 53 after 54.8 in March and the services index at 56.5 versus 57.4.

European equity markets are expected to open sharply lower on Friday, following Wall Street's sharp decline the previous day, after the Federal Reserve (Fed) chairman indicated that a 50 basis point interest rate hike was likely in May and that a second hike of the same magnitude might be needed later to bring down inflation. At 7:35 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract was down 110 points, or 1.6 percent, according to data from broker IG Markets. The DAX 40 contract was giving up 196 points, or 1.4 percent, and the FTSE 100 was giving up 90 points, or 1.2 percent.

Wall Street ended lower Thursday, undermined by rising bond yields. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1.1 percent at 34,792.76 points and the S&P 500 gave up 1.5 percent at 4,393.67 points. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.1% to 13,174.65 points, following a 1.2% decline the previous day.

U.S. Treasury yields continue to rise on Friday after Jerome Powell's remarks. At 7:35 a.m., the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, the market's benchmark, was at 2.943%, up from 2.845% Thursday night. The yield on the 10-year bond hit its highest level since December 2018 in Thursday's session, at 2.978%.

The euro is recovering against the dollar on Friday morning after losing ground overnight in reaction to Jerome Powell's comments, which sent a clearly restrictive message.

Oil prices retreat on Friday as Covid-19-related containment measures in China and the resulting reduction in mobility signal that demand for fuel, and thus oil, will normalize, ANZ reports. Prices made their sixth gain in seven sessions on Thursday, buoyed by the stated willingness of several European countries to dispense with Russian oil. At 7:25 a.m., the June contract for North Sea Brent crude was down $1.12 to $107.21 a barrel, while the Nymex-listed light sweet crude (WTI) contract was down $1.17 to $102.62 a barrel.