European equity markets were set to open higher on Friday, supported by easing bond yields and lower oil prices, which helped bolster risk appetite. Crude prices retreated after President Donald Trump said the US was engaged in “productive discussions” with Iran and would not launch an attack on the country before the midterm elections.
At the same time, global bond yields moved lower following robust demand at a US 30-year Treasury auction, signaling that investors remained willing to buy long-dated government debt despite the recent selloff. Market sentiment was further buoyed by reports that OpenAI expects its annualized revenue to reach or exceed $70 billion by year-end, alleviating worries triggered by earlier headlines suggesting revenue was running $20 billion below prior indications.
With no major economic data releases or key corporate earnings scheduled in Europe on Friday, attention stayed firmly on global macro drivers and corporate news. In premarket trading, futures on both the Euro Stoxx 50 and the Stoxx 600 were up about 0.7%.