(Alliance News) - Stocks in Europe were called to open higher on Friday on the back of a decent trading day in Wall Street overnight, as focus now shifts to central banks.

Shares in Asia were on the up, despite a tame inflation reading for China doing nothing to calm fear of dwindling economic growth.

IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 13.5 points, or 0.2%, higher at 7,613.24 on Friday. The index of London large-caps closed down 24.60 points, 0.3%, at 7,599.74 on Thursday.

The pound was quoted at USD1.2547 early Friday, up slightly from USD1.2541 at the time of the London equities close on Thursday. The euro stood at USD1.0777, up ever-so-slightly from USD1.0774. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY139.36, rising from JPY139.05.

Stocks in New York ended higher on Thursday, bolstered by a weaker-than-expected US jobless claims reading, which took some pressure off the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.5%, the S&P 500 up 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite up a more significant 1.0%.

New claims for unemployment insurance in the US rose in the most recent week, the Department of Labor reported.

Initial claims for unemployment support in the week ended June 3 totalled 261,000, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 to 233,000 from 232,000.

The data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will decide against an interest rate hike next week. The federal funds rate currently stands at 5.00% to 5.25%.

Surprise hikes from the Bank of Canada and Reserve Bank of Australia meant interest rate angst returned this week, just days before the Fed's decision on Wednesday next week.

In the Asia-Pacific region on Friday, equity markets were on the up. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was up 1.7% in late dealings, while Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4%. The Shanghai Composite edged up 0.1%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.5%.

China's annual inflation rate quickened slightly last month, but stayed not far above zero. The consumer price index rose 0.2% on-year, picking up a bit of speed from 0.1% in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The figure fell short of FXStreet-cited consensus which predicted an uptick to 0.3% annual inflation.

While policymakers elsewhere in the world have pumped the monetary policy brake pedal to contain red-hot inflation, Beijing has kept interest rates low compared to other major economies. But the near-zero inflation in China highlights challenges faced by policymakers there, as they try to stimulate the economy.

The country's annual producer price index – which measures prices paid by wholesalers – dropped a bigger-than-expected 4.6% in May on a year before, after a 3.6% annual decline in April, the biggest year-on-year fall in producer prices since 2016.

PPI has recorded annual decline for eight consecutive months because of sluggish domestic demand and lower commodity costs.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said the inflation report "raises the prospect of further easing from the Chinese central bank".

"Although how that would help the wider economy is open to question given the reluctance of Chinese consumers to spend after 3 years of restrictions, which were only recently eased," Hewson added.

Brent oil was quoted at USD75.30 a barrel early Friday, down from USD76.28 late Thursday. Gold was priced at USD1,963.70, down from USD1,966.33.

The local corporate diary has annual results from real estate investment trust Industrials REIT, which recently agreed to a takeover by Blackstone. Kidney health-focused diagnostics company Renalytix reports third-quarter results.

By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor

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