European equity markets expected higher, hoping for relief in Ukraine. The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 4,113.19 points (-0.58%), the CAC 40 at 6,946.82 points (-0.26%), the DAX 40 at 15,267.63 points (-0.67%) , the FTSE 100 at 7,537.37 points (-0.87%), the SMI at 12,075.27 points (-0.95%), the AEX at 751.20 points (-1.02%), the BEL 20 at 4,069.47 points (-0.89%), the IBEX 35 at 8,671.10 points (-0.76%), the DJIA at 34,312.03 points (-1.78%), the Nasdaq at 13,716 .72 points (-2.88%), the S&P 500 at 4,380.26 points (-2.12%) and the Nikkei 225 at 27,122.07 points (-0.41%).

With regard to exchange rates, the variation compared to the closing in New York indicates that EUR/USD at 1.1369 (+0.06%), EUR/JPY at 130.95 (+ 0.28%), USD/JPY at 115.20 (+0.23%).

European equity markets are expected to open higher on Friday, buoyed by hopes of a meeting between Russia and Ukraine. At 7:40 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract gained 39 points, or 0.6%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The contract on the DAX 40 rose by 48.5 points, or 0.3%, and that on the FTSE 100 took 23 points, or 0.3% as well. Signing its biggest drop since the end of November, the Dow Jones index (DJIA) closed down 1.8%, at 34,312.03 points. The broader S&P 500 index lost 2.1% to 4,380.86 points, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.9% to 13,716.72 points.

The market also reacted on Thursday to a sharper than expected decline in housing starts in January (-4.1%) and an unexpected increase in jobless claims last week in the United States. In Asia, the markets evolved in a contrasting way on Friday. The Nikkei index closed down 0.4% in Tokyo. At the end of the session, the Hang Seng index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange dropped 0.4%, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.3%.

The yield on the ten-year US Treasury bond is up at 1.981% on Friday morning, from 1.964% on Thursday evening.

The euro gained a little ground on Friday morning against the dollar and appreciated more clearly against the yen. The greenback is also strengthening against the Japanese currency.

Oil prices fell on Friday morning, while ongoing discussions on the Iranian nuclear accredit the possibility of an increase in the supply of crude in the event of an agreement. The oil market seems more concerned about the potential lifting of sanctions against Iran than a Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to ANZ. News reports indicate that the United States and its allies are close to salvaging the nuclear deal with Iran, ANZ says, adding that the prospect of a million barrels of oil arriving a day in the market has put pressure on crude prices. At 7:10 am, the April contract on Brent North Sea oil lost 23 cents to 92.74 dollars a barrel. The Nymex-listed light sweet crude (WTI) March contract fell 40 cents to $91.36 a barrel.