European stocks are likely to extend their recent losses on Friday on mounting concerns over Greece's ability to avoid a default amid political instability.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, facing public unrest and a split in his party, said he would make changes to his cabinet after failing to garner opposition support for an austerity plan, as European leaders struggle to agree on a second bailout for the troubled country. The International Monetary Fund, meanwhile, said it would support Greece as long as the government adopts agreed policy reforms.
Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve chairman, said in an interview overnight in New York that "the chances of Greece not defaulting are very small." and that Greece's debt crisis has the potential to push the U.S. into another recession.
Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower, heading for their seventh straight weekly decline despite some comforting news on U.S. housing starts and unemployment claims.
The euro fell for a third day versus the yen on fears that a Greek default could potentially derail the global economic recovery. Crude futures are down half a percent after rebounding by 14 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange overnight.
On the macroeconomic front, external trade data from Eurozone and Italy are the major statistical reports due in the European session.
In corporate news, Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG said that it held a groundbreaking ceremony to announce the start of construction of a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Virginia-based Capital One Financial Corp. said that it has agreed to buy ING Direct from Dutch financial services firm ING Groep NV in a cash and stock deal valued at $9 billion.
Indian conglomerate Tata Steel said it would sell its entire 26.27 percent stake in Australian coking coal miner Riversdale Mining for A$1.06 billion or $1.12 billion to mining giant Rio Tinto.
BP Plc and Chevron Corp. are among the companies with leases in the Gulf of Mexico that the Obama administration plans to extend by 12 months, the Bloomberg reported, citing the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.
Retailer Carrefour named Noel Prioux as executive director of its French operations and asked him "to implement a recovery plan to improve the performance of Carrefour France whose first-half results, in a challenging environment, are below the expectations of the executive board."
Builder Vinci said it signed a 7.8 billion-euro ($11 billion) contract to build and maintain a new high-speed train line between the cities of Tours and Bordeaux in southern France.
European stocks edged slightly lower to extend their steep recent losses on Thursday, as Greece teetered on the verge of default due to domestic pressures and discord among participants on a potential bailout.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks closed little changed, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, eased 0.1 percent. The German DAX lost 0.1 percent, France's CAC 40 shed 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 0.8 percent and Switzerland's SMI dropped 0.7 percent.
U.S. stocks saw considerable volatility before ending on a mixed note overnight following a mixed batch of economic data, including a report from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve which provided further evidence of weakness in the U.S. manufacturing sector.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a modest loss, falling by 0.3 percent to a three-month closing low, while the Dow rose half a percent and the S&P 500 edged up 0.2 percent.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.