European equity markets expected slightly higher ahead of US employment. Thus, the Eurostoxx 50 opens at 4,141.02 points (-1.92%), the CAC 40 at 7,005.63 points (-1.54%), the DAX 40 at 15,368.47 points (-1. 57%), the FTSE 100 at 7,528.84 points (-0.71%), the SMI at 12,234.15 points (-1.02%), the AEX at 748.81 points (-2.19%) , the BEL 20 at 4,066.92 points (-1.36%), the IBEX 35 at 8,689.40 points (-0.27%), the DJIA at 35,111.16 points (-1.45%), the Nasdaq at 13,878.82 points (-3.74%), the S&P 500 at 4,477.44 points (-2.44%) and the Nikkei 225 at 27,439.99 points (+0.73%).

With regard to exchange rates, the variation compared to the close in New York indicates that EUR/USD at 1.1473 (+0.31%), EUR/JPY at 131.80 (+0 .21%) and USD/JPY at 114.89 (-0.09%).

Sanofi and Vinci present their annual results on Friday, while Pharmagest Interactive and Delfingen Industry publish their fourth quarter sales. On the macroeconomic side, the index of industrial production for the month of December and the statistics on salaried employment in the fourth quarter will appear at 8:45 am. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal expect industrial production to rise 0.5% month on month in December, after falling 0.4% in November.

European equity markets could rise Friday at the open, as futures on major US indices are trending higher after the New York Stock Exchange fell sharply on Thursday. At 7:05 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract gained 26.1 points, or 0.4%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The contract on the DAX 40 rose by 72.5 points, or 0.5%, and that on the FTSE 100 rose by 48.6 points, or 0.7%.

The Dow Jones Index (DJIA) closed down 1.5% to 35,111.16 points, and the broader S&P 500 index fell 2.4% to 4,477.44 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 3.7% to 13,878.82 points. The Nasdaq is down more than 12% since the start of the year, while the S&P 500 has lost nearly 7% over the same period. Fund managers are now looking to sectors such as energy and banking which they believe stand to benefit from the economic recovery and rising borrowing costs. In Asia, the equity markets evolved in a contrasting manner on Friday morning. Trading volumes have been weak this week as mainland China markets closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, while Covid-19 cases continue to rise in Asia, particularly in Japan and Hong Kong. Kong. The Tokyo Stock Exchange's Nikkei index closed up 0.7%. The Hang Seng index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was up 3.2% at the end of the session.

Bond yields rose sharply on Thursday. The yield on the ten-year US government bond reached 1.839%, against 1.779% on Wednesday evening. At 7:10 a.m. Friday morning, it was up slightly, at 1.843%. The more restrictive than expected announcement from the Bank of England (BOE) did not change the BlackRock Investment Institute's view on UK Gilts. Five of the nine members of the central bank's monetary policy committee, the majority, voted in favor of raising interest rates by 25 basis points and four voted for a hike of 50 basis points.

The euro rose Friday morning against the dollar and the yen, while the greenback gave up some ground against the Japanese currency. As the Federal Reserve's rate hike plans are priced in by the market, the market is looking to other central banks, according to Scott Petruska of Silicon Valley Bank. The euro could continue to appreciate against the dollar after statements by ECB President Christine Lagarde, who indicated on Thursday that inflation could remain high longer than expected, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank.

At 7:15 a.m., the April North Sea Brent contract was up 25 cents to $91.36 a barrel. The Nymex-listed light sweet crude (WTI) March contract took 46 cents to $90.73 a barrel.