European equity markets expected to close balance at the opening The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 3,740.31 points (+1.72%), the SMI at 11,491.80 points (+0.07%), the AEX at 692.80 points (+1.27%), the BEL 20 at 3,915.89 points (+0.09%), the IBEX 35 at 8,888.80 points (+1.47%), the DJIA at 32,637.19 points (+1.47%), the DJIA at 32,637.19 points (+1.09%), the IBEX 35 at 8,888.80 points (+1.47%), and the DJIA at 32,637.19 points (+1.9%) 61%), the Nasdaq at 11,740.65 points (+2.68%), the S&P 500 at 4,057.84 points (+1.99%) and the Nikkei 225 at 26,777.76 points (+0.66%).

In terms of exchange rates, the change from the close in New York indicates that EUR/USD was 1.0755 (+0.27%), EUR/JPY at 136.41 (+0.05%), and USD/JPY at 126.81 (-0.22%).

Furniture and home decor retailer Maisons du Monde lowered its financial targets for 2022 on Thursday evening, due to disruptions linked to inflation and the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic in China. The strategic plan unveiled in November 2021 remains “fully valid”, “even if the timeframe for achieving the 2025 objectives may be extended,” the group also warned. There are no events on the business agenda on Friday. The macroeconomic agenda is also empty.

European stock markets are expected to generally open close to balance on Friday. The London Stock Exchange's flagship index, the FTSE 100, may have a more difficult start to the session due to Brexit tensions and the impact of the tax on oil companies' profits announced by the British government on Thursday. Around 7:40am, the CAC 40 futures contract was down 4.8 points, or 0.1%, according to data from the IG Markets broker. The DAX 40 contract lost 2 points, and the FTSE 100 contract dropped 25.8 points, or 0.3%.

The Dow Jones Index (DJIA) posted a fifth consecutive session in the green to finish up 1.6%. The expanded S&P 500 index rose by 2%, thanks to good results in the retail sector. Accelerating throughout the session after an uncertain opening, the Nasdaq Composite, rich in technology stocks, gained 2.7%. In Asia, markets were mostly green on Friday morning, although China's industrial profits index fell 8.5% year on year in April, after growing 10.6% in March, as the country was penalized by lockdowns in Shanghai and other cities to fight Covid-19. At the end of the session, the Nikkei index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 0.7%. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong increased 2.8% and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.5%.

U.S. Treasury bond yields were stable on Friday morning. The 10-year bond rate, the market's benchmark, remains below 2.8%, while operators are lowering their expectations that the Fed will raise key interest rates in 2022. After the release of US gross domestic product (GDP) figures on Thursday, financial markets seem to believe that the Fed may slow the rise in interest rates somewhat, as traders in the federal funds futures market downgrade their interest rate forecasts. They now estimate that the Fed's key rate is 57% more likely to be between 2.5% and 2.75% in December, compared to 35% a week ago. The probability that central bankers will raise this rate to between 2.75% and 3% by the end of the year, compared with the current 0.75% to 1%, has fallen to 34%, compared with 51% on 19 May.

The euro appreciated against the dollar on Friday morning but remained stable against the yen. On the other hand, the greenback is falling against the Japanese currency. In the United States, the VIX volatility index -- the Wall Street fear barometer -- fell 2.6% on Thursday, to 27.64 points, after rising to 36.64 points this month.

Oil contracts gained a bit of ground Friday morning, after gaining more than 3% on Thursday. Prices were supported by the announcement of a fall in crude oil and gasoline inventories in the United States ahead of the summer season, during which Americans travel more by car. At 7:20 a.m., the July North Sea Brent contract was trading at 24 cents, at $117.64 per barrel. The price of sweet light crude (WTI) traded on Nymex at the same maturity rose by 7 cents to $114.16 per barrel.