European equity markets were set to open on an upward trend on Friday, continuing this week’s positive momentum. This optimism persists even though the US producer inflation figures surpassed expectations, which has cooled speculation of an aggressive rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September. Investors are also keeping a close eye on the meeting scheduled for later today in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as they work towards resolving the conflict in Ukraine. Notably, there are no significant economic or earnings announcements expected from Europe today. In early market trading, futures for the Euro Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600 showed increases of 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.