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EUROPEAN SHARES RISE TENTATIVELY (0915 GMT)
European indices are enjoying a moderate lift this morning, as the STOXX 600 ticked up in the first hour of trading and is now around 0.28% higher.
The top riser of the index is Danish biotech Bavarian Nordic, with shares up 5.8% after the company said it had signed a deal worth up to $83 million with the U.S Department of Defense.
Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding is providing the biggest lift on a weighted basis, while French luxury company LVMH is one of the larger drags, along with ASML , Nestle and
Retail is the sector outperformer, up 0.7%, while travel and leisure and utilities are the worst off, down 0.1%-0.2%.
GRINCH (RE)APPEARS (0744 GMT)
Ignoring a hawkish Fed, investors attempted the briefest of Santa rallies this week but revised U.S. GDP data and relatively low claims for unemployment benefits have brought back worries of higher-for-longer interest rates.
And so the safe-haven U.S. dollar is back on the prowl, with Asian shares set to end in the red for a second straight week.
Investors will now focus on U.S. personal consumption expenditures data, due later on Friday, which will provide more clues on the direction of inflation as traders look ahead to 2023.
Some are clinging to the hope that central banks will likely pause interest rate hikes next year in the face of an economic slowdown.
But as Generali Investments strategists put it, central banks are still showing their teeth, committed to tackling inflation, and an outright policy pivot looks distant.
The yen managed to retain most of its gains against the dollar after the BOJ bombshell earlier this week, with data on Friday showing that Japan's consumer inflation hit a fresh 40-year high, adding to pressure on the central bank to alter its ultra-easy policy.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 infections in China are likely to hit their peak within a week, a health official said, as China's health system prepares for a surge in cases weeks after the country began dismantling its zero-COVID policy.
The saga around the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange rumbles on, with Sam Bankman-Fried released on a $250 million bond package while he awaits trial.
In the corporate world, chip stocks slumped worldwide after Micron's dour forecast on what the chipmaker called a "significant supply demand mismatch".
Tesla CEO and Twitter owner Elon Musk said he will not sell any more Tesla stock for about two years, as the EV maker's stock is on track for its worst-ever monthly performance.
Key developments that could influence markets on Friday:
Economic events: Spain Q3 GDP data, France November producer price data
'TIS THE SEASON AFTER ALL (0734 GMT)
European futures are rising around 0.3%, with the STOXX 600 set to wrap up the last week before Christmas in the green.
The London Stock Exchange will begin a market closing process from 1230 GMT today. European bourses remain open all day, barring Dublin, which also has a half day.
Though the index has added 0.59% since Monday, it is no where near enough to reverse the 3.2% drop last week amid a spate of central bank decisions and business activity data that pointed to a slowdown in growth.
The index remains 12.4% lower than where it started the year.
Attention is staying on China, which expects a peak in COVID-19 infections within a week, and on Japan, where the latest data showed core consumer inflation hitting a four-decade high.
Minutes on Friday showed Bank of Japan (BOJ) policymakers had discussed the potential market impact of a future exit from ultra-low interest rates, months before a surprise tweak to its yield control policy earlier this week.
