Among the European indices, the Stoxx 600 fell by 0.30 percent when the stock exchanges opened on Friday. The FTSE 100 fell by the same amount, 0.30 percent, the DAX 0.40 percent and the OMXS30 index 0.80 percent.
In Europe, the view of the stock exchange day follows Asia, where the indices have fallen by 0.1–0.8 percent. In Asia, the stock market day has been mixed up, for example, by the saber-rattling between China and Taiwan. The victim was a Taiwanese citizen who was imprisoned in China for separatism. The Hong Kong stock exchange was also put on hold on Friday due to the super typhoon..
The European market came as a small surprise to Germany’s report this morning on the contraction of industrial production significantly more than expected. Industrial production shrank by 2.4 percent in July, while expectations were for a drop of only 0.5 percent. In June, production was still growing by 1.7 percent.
The biggest factor holding back the market is currently the US employment figures, which will be published on Friday afternoon Finnish time. Since the numbers are an important indicator of the state of the economy for the central bank Fed, they can significantly affect the timing of interest rate cuts. Stock markets can therefore gain momentum in the afternoon and evening.
Like Europe and Asia, Wall Street futures look red. The S&P500 futures are down by 0.7 percent, the Nasdaq by as much as 1.1 percent and the Dow Jones by 0.4 percent.