BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The impact of new corona virus continues to be a concern for investors as death toll increases.
Monthly Employment Situation report and Wholesale Trade report for December are the major economic announcement on Thursday.
Asian shares finished broadly higher, while European shares are trading in the red.
Activision Blizzard, News Corp. , Pinterest, Take-Two, and Uber are among the companies releasing their quarterly results after the close of today's trading.
Initial signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open lower.
As of 8.00 am ET, the Dow futures were losing 90.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were sliding 8.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were 27.25 points.
The U.S. major averages finished in positive territory on Thursday. The Dow climbed 88.92 points or 0.3 percent to 29,379.77, the Nasdaq advanced 63.47 points or 0.7 percent to 9,572.15 and the S&P 500 rose 11.09 points or 0.3 percent to 3,345.78.
On the economic front, U.S. Labor Department's Employment Situation report for January will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 160,000, compared to 145,000 in the prior month. Unemployment rate is expected to be at 3.5 percent, unchanged from the prior month.
The Commerce Department's Wholesale Trade for December will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The inventory consensus is for an increase of 0.1 percent, while inventories declined 0.1 percent in the previous month.
Baker-Hughes Rig Count for the week will be released at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North American Rig Count was 1037 and U.S. Rig Count was 790.
Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Friday. Chinese stocks finished modestly higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index edged up 9.45 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,875.96, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 0.33 percent to 27,404.27.
Chinese stocks recovered from an early slide to finish modestly higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index edged up 9.45 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,875.96, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 0.33 percent to 27,404.27.
Japanese shares edged lower. The Nikkei average slipped 45.61 points, or 0.19 percent, to 23,827.98 but ended the week about 2.7 percent higher. The broader Topix index ended down 4.84 points, or 0.28 percent, at 1,732.14, taking the weekly gain to 2.8 percent.
Australian markets edged lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 26.60 points, or 0.38 percent, to 7,022.60, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 27.30 points, or 0.38 percent, at 7,121.40.
European shares are trading lower. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is declining 21.14 points or 0.35 percent, the German DAX is losing 81.44 points or 0.60 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is down 53.73 points or 0.26 percent. The Swiss Market Index is sliding 28.19 points or 0.25 percent.
The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 0.38 percent.
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