European equity markets were poised to open higher on Friday, supported by improved risk sentiment following a pullback in global bond yields. However, growing fiscal concerns in France continued to weigh on sovereign debt, pushing the country’s 10-year government bond yield to its highest level since 2002. Against this backdrop, Japanese asset manager Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management exited its entire position in French government bonds, citing worries about France’s fiscal outlook, and redirected the proceeds into German bunds and short-term Japanese government bonds.
Investors were also tracking renewed volatility in oil markets as the US weighed the deployment of an additional aircraft carrier and 10,000 troops to the Middle East, heightening the risk of further disruptions to regional energy supplies and a potential resurgence in inflationary pressures. On the data front, market participants were set to scrutinize September Eurozone inflation figures, as well as Spanish unemployment data and Italian retail sales. In premarket trading, futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600 were both up about 0.2%.
