European equity markets should open in the green. The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 4,177.11 points with a drop of 0.04%, the CAC 40 at 6,684.72 points (+0.24%), the DAX 30 at 15.623.15 points (+0.08%), the FTSE 100 at 7,024.21 points (-1.01%), the SMI at 12,116.43 points (-0.81%), the AEX at 787.17 points (-0.23%), the BEL 20 at 4.215.88 points (-0.33%), the IBEX 35 at 8,800.60 points (-0.43%), the DJIA at 34,879.38 points (-0.43%), the Nasdaq at 15,248.25 points (-0.25%), the S&P 500 at 4,493.28 points (-0.46%) and the Nikkei 225 at 30,321.46 points up 1.04%.

As for the exchange rate, the change from the New York close shows EUR/USD opening at 1.1830 and gaining 0.04%, EUR/JPY at 129.95 (0.16%) and USD/JPY at 109.87 with a 0.12% rebound.

Investors will be watching for August industrial production figures on Friday. On the corporate side, the market will react to the index reshuffle announced Thursday night by Euronext. The medical and food analysis laboratory Eurofins Scientific will join the CAC 40 index on September 20, replacing the IT services group Atos. Waste collection and recycling group Derichebourg will join the SBF 120 index on the same date. The oil products distribution and storage group Rubis has also announced that it is aiming for growth in its net operating profit in 2021, in particular thanks to the continued "good momentum" of Rubis Energie, its distribution and "support & services" branch. In the first half of the year, Rubis' current operating income (ROC) stood at 188 million euros, up 10% on the corresponding period in 2020.

European stocks are expected to rise at the opening Friday, reacting favorably to announcements by the European Central Bank (ECB), which on Thursday raised its growth forecast for the euro zone in 2021 to 5%. At 7:40 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract was up 20 points, or 0.3%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The DAX contract was up 39 points, or 0.25%, and the FTSE 100 was up 24 points, or 0.3%. Investors will follow final German inflation figures in August, U.K. gross domestic product (GDP) in July and U.S. producer prices in August.

Wall Street ended lower, despite the announcement of a decrease in U.S. jobless claims, concerns about the Delta variant and the level of valuations weighing on investor confidence. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) finished down 0.4% to fall below 35,000 points to 34,879.38 points. The broader S&P 500 index gave up 0.5% to 4,493.28 points, held back by pharmaceutical stocks. The Nasdaq, rich in technology stocks, dropped 0.3% to 15,248.25 points. In Asia, the main equity markets rose on Friday. At the end of the session, the Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 1%. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4% and in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 1.8%, recovering from its sharp decline on Thursday.

The euro advanced against the dollar on Friday, still supported by the European Central Bank's announcements on Thursday, while the drop in U.S. jobless claims to their lowest level since the health crisis began weighed on the dollar.

Oil contracts are gaining ground Friday morning. At 7:30 a.m., the November contract for North Sea Brent crude was up 56 cents at $72.01 a barrel. The October contract for Nymex-listed light sweet crude (WTI) was up 48 cents at $68.63 a barrel.