The European markets are mostly higher, led by automakers and lenders, despite some weak cues from Wall Street where San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams indicated Thursday that the Fed may slow the pace of its asset purchases as early as this summer if various labor market indicators continue to register appreciable improvement.
On a day of light economic news from the region, Eurozone construction output continued its decline for the fifth month in a row in March, Eurostat reported. Production in construction fell at a faster pace of 1.7 percent, following a 0.3 percent drop in February. Building construction and civil engineering slid 1.4 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.
New car registrations in the European Union increased from last year in April, for the fist time in more than one-and half years, data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association showed.
Sales of new passenger cars advanced 1.7 percent on an annual basis to around 1.04 million units in April, reversing the 10.2 percent fall recorded in March. The increase was the first since September 2011.
Additionally, Credit Suisse raised European auto sector to ''Overweight'' from ''Benchmark.''
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is adding 0.22 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is gaining 0.07 percent.
The German DAX is marginally higher while the French CAC 40 and the UK's FTSE 100 are gaining around 0.3 percent each. Switzerland's SMI is moderately lower.
In Frankfurt, Lanxess is gaining 4.6 percent, thus topping the gainers on the index.
Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank are advancing 3.1 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively. UBS raised global banks sector to ''Overweight.''
Daimler, Volkswagen and BMW are gaining between 3.2 percent and 1.3 percent.
CTS Eventim is up 1.8 percent. Commerzbank raised the stock to ''Buy'' from ''Add.''
Deutsche Telekom is retreating 7.6 percent. UBS cut telecom sector to ''Underweight.''
In Paris, Renault is gaining 3.7 percent and Peugeot is climbing 6.3 percent. Tire maker Michelin is up 3.1 percent.
Societe Generale and BNP Paribas are rising 2.2 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
Credit Suisse cut European food producers to ''Underweight'' from ''Benchmark.'' Danone is losing 1.4 percent.
In London, Royal Bank of Scotland is adding 1.6 percent. UBS added the stock to ''Global Top 40 Stock List.'' Lloyds Banking is gaining 2.1 percent. Standard Chartered and Barclays are also making gains.
Wm Morrison Supermarkets announced a long term agreement with Ocado Group that would enable Morrisons.com to commence grocery deliveries to customers by January 2014. Morrison shares are up 1.5 percent and Ocado shares are climbing nearly 30 percent.
Intertek is losing nearly 5 percent. The quality and safety services provider reported 9.9 percent growth in revenues for the four-month period ended April 30. But, margin was lower due to the impact of sharp profit decline in minerals business.
A.P. Møller-Mærsk is gaining 1.2 percent in Copenhagen. The container shipping firm reported first-quarter results.
FLSmidth, which reported lower quarterly profit, is losing 8.5 percent.
Across Asia/Pacific, markets were mostly positive. China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.4 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.7 percent. Australia's All Ordinaries rose 0.3 percent.
In the U.S., futures point to a higher open on Wall Street. In the previous session, stocks fell, with a disappointing batch of U.S. economic data on initial jobless claims, housing starts and regional manufacturing activity along with comments from the regional Federal Reserve official weighing on the markets. The Dow dropped 0.3 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 0.2 percent and the S&P 500 shed half a percent.
In the commodity space, crude for June delivery is adding $0.55 to $95.71 per barrel and June gold is falling $6.8 to $1380.1 a troy ounce.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.