While investors welcome the trade agreement between the United Kingdom and the United States announced on Thursday and as new negotiations open between China and the United States on Friday, European stock markets are expected to open higher on Friday.

At around 7:40am, the CAC 40 futures contract is up by 0.3%, according to data from broker IG.

French President Emmanuel Macron is due to sign a strengthened friendship and cooperation treaty this Friday in Nancy with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which will focus in particular on security and defense issues.

Amid optimism over improved trade relationships with the United Kingdom and hopes of negotiations with China, stock market futures predicted gains at the opening on Friday.

At around 7:40 a.m., the DAX 40 futures contract in Frankfurt gained 0.3%, according to data from broker IG. FTSE 100 futures were also up 0.3% on the London Stock Exchange

The deal with the United Kingdom is the first of its kind since the Trump administration imposed sweeping trade restrictions five weeks ago, causing market turmoil. Shares have since shot up at every sign of de-escalation, with many investors esp& as long as the administration can reach agreements that will minimize the blow to economic growth and business profits

As for European stocks, IAG and Commerzbank are due to release their first-quarter results this Friday.

The New York Stock Exchange closed higher on Thursday, following the announcement of this trade agreement with the United Kingdom. The Dow Jones index rose 0.6% to 41,368.45 points. The S&P 500 advanced 0.6% to 5,663.94 points, and the Nasdaq Composite, rich in technology stocks, gained

The Nikkei on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 1.5% at the end of trading on Friday, while the Hang Seng on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange rose by 0.1%.

Vivek Paul, chief investment strategist for the United Kingdom at the BlackRock Investment Institute, said that long-term British Gilts seem more attractive than their American counterparts because the U.K.'s futures premium better reflects analysts' expectations for at the level at which interest rates will stabilize over the long term. This is expected to increase globally, but the UK term premium seems favourable compared to the US term premium, he adds

At around 7:40 a.m., the 10-year Treasury bill rate fell by 1 basis point (0.01 percentage point), to 4.37%. That of the 2-year bond also fell 1 basis point, to 3.88%

The greenback fell by 0.3% against the Japanese currency, to 145.46 yen. Around 7:40am, the euro was almost stable, at 1.1227 dollars.

Oil futures rose slightly amid optimism about trade negotiations between the United States and China. According to Antonio Di Giacomo of XS.com, “discussions between the world's two largest economies are aimed at easing trade tensions that have had a significant impact on the global economy, especially on the energy market.” For the latter, “investors hope that the progress made in these negotiations will contribute to the stabilization of global demand for crude oil.”

The June contract for soft light crude (WTI) listed on Nymex rose 33 cents, or 0.6%, to $60.24 per barrel. Around 7:40am on Friday, the July contract for North Sea Brent traded in London gained 34 cents, or 0.5%, to $63.18