BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks look set to open little changed on Friday as China data disappointed once again and the high-level U.S.-China trade talks in Washington ended with positive words.
A private survey showed that China's factory activity continued to weaken last month, providing the latest evidence of a prolonged economic slowdown.
The Caixin/Markit PMI dropped to 48.3 in January from 49.7 in the previous month. Analysts had expected a score of 49.5.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday that he hoped to strike a deal with China before the March deadline.
He also warned later that he was looking for China to open their markets not only to financial services, but also to manufacturing, farmers and other U.S. businesses and industries.
'No final deal will be made until my friend President Xi, and I, meet in the near future to discuss and agree on some of the long-standing and more difficult points,' he added.
Asian stocks are trading mixed as trade talks ended with no deal. Oil prices remain little changed while the U.S. dollar held steady ahead of a key jobs report, due later in the day.
Economists expect U.S. employment to rise by 165,000 jobs in January after an addition of 312,000 jobs in December. The jobless rate is expected to hold at 3.9 percent.
The jobs data is likely to overshadow separate reports on manufacturing activity and consumer sentiment as well as the release of delayed data on construction spending and wholesale inventories.
Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed as investors eyed ongoing trade talks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.4 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.9 percent on the back of strong earnings from Facebook and a dovish message from the Fed. The Dow slipped 0.1 percent as DuPont reported lower-than-expected profits.
European markets also turned in a mixed performance on Thursday as investors reacted to a mixed batch of economic data from Eurozone, with Italy slipping into a technical recession at the end of the year.
The pan European Stoxx 600 finished marginally higher. France's CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose around 0.4 percent while the German DAX edged down 0.1 percent.
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