At around 8:10 a.m., the "future" contract – February delivery – on the CAC 40 index was down 60 points at 8,130.5, signaling a weak start. Other futures contracts point to a 0.1% drop for Frankfurt's DAX and a 0.1% dip for London's FTSE, while the Euro STOXX 50 is expected to fall by 0.2%.

It has been a turbulent week on global equity markets, initially rattled by threats from Donald Trump against eight European countries opposed to his plan to annex Greenland, before being reassured by the less aggressive tone than expected adopted by the American president on geopolitical and trade issues during his speech in Davos.

Over the course of this choppy week, the CAC is currently down about 1.3%.

After several sessions marked by the unpredictable and contradictory statements of the American billionaire, investors are hoping to refocus on fundamentals today, closely watching economic indicators in search of reassurance about the outlook.

In Europe, where the recovery remains fragile, investors hope that the initial estimates of January's eurozone services PMI surveys – which disappointed in December – will offer some grounds for satisfaction this morning.

"Like Germany, the eurozone ended 2025 in negative territory regarding industrial sentiment, which is not very reassuring at a time when significant efforts are being made to strengthen the defense sector," analysts at Oddo BHF reminded earlier this week.

In the United States, the University of Michigan sentiment index will also be released in the afternoon.

Investors are also awaiting a fresh round of corporate half-year results on Friday, including releases from U.S. oil services group SLB and Swedish network equipment maker Ericsson.

Last night, Intel reported better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter of 2025, but disappointed investors by unveiling forecasts considered insufficient for early 2026.

After soaring 147% over the past 12 months, the stock lost more than 6% in after-hours trading.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index was set to end Friday's session up 0.2%. The CSI 300, grouping major mainland Chinese stocks, fell 0.6% while Hong Kong's market gained more than 0.3%.

Weighed down in recent days by uncertainties surrounding U.S. foreign policy, the dollar is attempting to stabilize against the euro, which is nonetheless holding on to the 1.1740 mark this morning.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries has slipped back below the 4.25% threshold, even though the robust U.S. growth figures published yesterday should have reinforced expectations of a slowdown in Fed rate cuts.

Oil prices are rising on Friday and appear set to record a third consecutive weekly gain, as the recent depreciation of the dollar makes crude more affordable. U.S. light crude (WTI) is up 0.8% at $59.8 a barrel.

On the commodities front, precious metals are reaching historic highs, supported by a loss of confidence in U.S. assets amid geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty.

Overnight, gold surpassed its recent record to hit $4,967 an ounce, just shy of the symbolic $5,000 threshold, while spot silver traded at $98.6 an ounce, again close to a major psychological barrier at $100.