European stock exchanges are expected to open higher on Friday, after the New York Stock Exchange hit new highs on Thursday evening, while good corporate results keep investors optimistic.

Stellantis is convening its shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting on Friday to confirm the appointment of Antonio Filosa as CEO of the car manufacturer.

The pharmaceutical group Sanofi announced on Friday that it had completed the acquisition of Blueprint Medicines, an American biotech company specializing in systemic mastocytosis, a rare immunological disease.

On Thursday evening, the construction and concessions group Vinci signed an agreement to acquire the German company R+S, for an amount that has not been disclosed. Vinci also announced that it welcomed more than 86 million passengers at its airports in the second quarter, an increase of 6.7% compared to the same period in 2024

The real estate company specializing in logistics platforms Argan published higher results in the first half of the year and confirmed its objectives for the full year.

Around 7:40 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract gained 0.5%, according to data from broker IG.

As investors scrutinize corporate earnings as well as statements by Fed officials to assess the future direction of interest rates, futures on European equity markets rose on Friday.

Around 7:40 a.m., the DAX 40 futures contract in Frankfurt was up 0.5%, while the FTSE 100 in London was up 0.3%, according to data from broker IG.

The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Thursday, encouraged by good economic indicators and more optimistic forecasts from major companies.

The Dow Jones Index rose 0.5% to 44,484.49 points, and the S&P 500 set a new record at 6,296.36 points after rising 0.5%. For its part, the Nasdaq Composite, rich in technological stocks, gained 0.8% and reached a new all-time high of 20,885.65 points.
Fed governor Adriana Kugler said in a speech in Washington on Thursday that the American central bank should maintain the status quo on its rates due to inflation risks associated with customs barriers.
Adriana Kugler said at a housing conference in Washington that inflation due to tariffs was already visible in the price data published this week. She added that inflation is likely to accelerate as businesses have not yet fully passed on the increased costs to their customers. The central banker's words echo those of other Fed officials who said that the inflation risks associated with tariffs should encourage the central bank to be cautious about reducing its key rate

On Thursday evening, their colleague Christopher Waller pleaded in favor of a rate cut by the Fed during its next meeting, scheduled for this month. During a speech in Manhattan, the Fed governor said that trade barriers were unlikely to trigger a prolonged period of rising prices and that the central bank should be alert to the risks of a weakening economy

The central banker reported that “the economy is still growing, but its momentum has slowed considerably.”
On the side of American companies, Netflix announced Thursday evening results that were better than expected in the second quarter, driven by the gains in subscribers to its audiovisual platform, and raised its forecasts for the fiscal year.
In Asia, the Nikkei index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 0.2% on Friday at the end of trading. The Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.3%, while the Hang Seng Index on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange rose by 0.8%.

The stock rate at two years increased by 1 basis point to 3.90%. At around 7:40am, the 10-year US Treasury bond rate lost 2 basis points, to 4.44%