European stocks are seen opening lower on Friday after Standard and Poor's downgraded Spanish credit ratings by two notches, saying that it expects further deterioration of the country's public finances amid economic contraction and the need to support banks.
"We believe that the Kingdom of Spain's budget trajectory will likely deteriorate against a background of economic contraction in contrast with our previous projections," the agency said in a statement.
Investors also await the outcome of an Italian debt auction later in the day, with the government aiming to raise a maximum of 6 billion euros by selling five-and 10-year bonds after a sale of 8.5 billion euros in six-month treasury bills yesterday.
Asian markets are turning in a mixed performance as the news of Spanish downgrade offset upbeat U.S. housing data and better-than-expected corporate earnings. Japan's Nikkei index is down 0.6 percent after the Bank of Japan kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0-0.1 percent and increased the total size of its asset purchase program by JPY 5 trillion to JPY 70 trillion with some changes in its composition.
In economic releases, unemployment in France surged to its highest level in over 12 years in March, a Labor Ministry data showed today, days ahead of the Presidential poll. The number of registered job seekers in the country rose to 2.88 million in March, the highest total since September 1999. The jobless total was up 0.6 percent from February.
Separately, a gauge of consumer confidence in the united Kingdom was unchanged in April, with the headline index posting a reading of minus-31 in April, matching economist estimates, a monthly survey from polling firm GfK NOP showed.
There is some good news out of the Netherlands as the Dutch parliament reached an agreement on an austerity program demanded by the European Union yesterday.
In corporate news, German exchange Deutsche Boerse AG posted a lower profit for the first quarter, reflecting reduced activity on the financial markets.
French construction giant Vinci SA said it expects full-year 2012 sales to increase slightly after reporting a 6 percent rise in first-quarter revenue and a solid growth in its order book.
Fiat Group reported a higher first-quarter profit on strong contributions from Chrysler whose cars are sold in the U.S. and Canadian markets.
Software AG reported lower first-quarter profit and revenue in the first-quarter, but said it continues to expect growth of 5 to 15 percent in the BPE division and corresponding group revenue in the range of +/- 3 percent at constant currency in the year 2012.
BASF SE posted net income of 1.72 billion euros for the first quarter, a decline from 2.41 billion euros reported a year ago, with the rise in raw materials putting pressure on its margins.
Norsk Hydro posted first quarter net income attributable to Hydro shareholders of NOK 499 million versus NOK 5.04 billion last year.
Credit Suisse said Karl Landert, who joined the bank in 2001 and has served as Chief Information Officer of Credit Suisse since 2008, would step down from his current position.
Daimler AG reported first-quarter net profit of 1.42 billion euros for the first quarter, up from 1.18 billion euros in the same quarter a year earlier, and said it is on schedule to meet its annual as well as medium-term targets.
European stocks ended mixed on Thursday, as a weak U.S. jobs report, disappointing earnings results from European banks and weaker-than-expected euro zone sentiment data prompted some profit taking following two sessions of strong gains.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks and the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, ended narrowly mixed on opposite sides of the unchanged line. Around Europe, the German DAX and the FTSE 100 of the U.K. added around half a percent each, but France's CAC 40 slipped 0.1 percent and Switzerland's SMI lost half a percent.
U.S. stocks ended notably higher in thin trading overnight, as hopes for further stimulus steps from the Federal Reserve and a report from the National Association of Realtors showing a much bigger than expected increase in pending home sales in March helped to outweigh the negative sentiment generated by another disappointing jobs report and some tepid earnings reports. The Dow rose 0.9 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 gained around 0.7 percent each.
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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.