European stock markets are expected to open on a negative note on Friday amidst a negative sentiment worldwide driven by fears the Fed would be willing for a fierce combat against inflation. The strength of the U.S. economy as revealed in the latest data release on retail sales is seen goading the Fed to tone up its anti-inflationary monetary policy stance. The surge in China's industrial output as well as the energy situation in Europe is also likely to influence market sentiment over the day's trade. On Thursday, European markets finished mostly with losses, led by CAC 40 which declined 1.04 percent. The pan-European Stoxx 600 shed 0.65 percent. Germany's DAX dropped 0.55 percent whereas Switzerland's SMI edged down 0.07 percent. U.K.'s FTSE 100 had however edged up 0.07 percent.
The Wall Street had also closed with losses on Thursday amidst the strong retail sales numbers. Markets perceive the unexpected 0.3 percent growth in Retail Sales versus the 0.4 percent decline in the previous month, as increasing the headroom available for Fed to step up its fight against inflation. Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.43 percent to close at 11,552.36 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.56 percent to end at 30,961.82.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.