Europe markets seen opening mostly higher amid a slew of earnings 

• Coming up on Friday, Renault Nissan, Danone, Eni, BBVA, Banco Sabadell, Philips Lighting, LafargeHolcim and BT are all expected to publish earnings during the course of the trading day.
• Other corporates to keep an eye on during market trade include L’Oreal, Kering and Carrefour all of whom issued financial updates after yesterday’s close.

European markets are expected to begin the final day of this trading week in the black, however gains could be capped as trade fears continue to reverberate.

The FTSE 100 is seen starting the day up 21 points at 7,684, the French CAC 40 is set to open on a flat note at 5,480 and the German DAX is expected to start off 36 points higher at 12,846, according to IG.

As another week draws to a close, politics and corporate news will likely dominate discussion in Europe.

Coming up on Friday, Renault Nissan, Danone, Eni, BBVA, Banco Sabadell, Philips Lighting, LafargeHolcim and BT are all expected to publish earnings during the course of the trading day. Other corporates to keep an eye on during market trade include L’Oreal, Kering and Carrefour all of whom issued financial updates after yesterday’s close.

On the economic data front, gross domestic product figures for France were released before the bell — which came in below market forecasts. According to INSEE stats group, France’s economy grew by 0.2 percent in the second quarter as the European nation was hit by strikes and a drop in consumer spending. The French economic data is just hours before the U.S. is set to publish its own GDP figures before the Wall Street open.

Meantime, trade continues to dwell on investor sentiment, as fresh news continues to roll out. On Thursday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC that a deal on NAFTA would be coming soon. The U.S. has been in renegotiation talks with Canada and Mexico over NAFTA, after President Donald Trump heavily criticized the trade agreement.

The U.S. pledged to work together with the European Union this week, to reduce tariffs and avoid a trade war between the two regions; however the future of car levies remains unknown. On Thursday however, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross stated that the Commerce Department would continue its investigation into whether auto imports would inflict a risk on U.S. national security, Reuters reported.

Not a Scientific Survey. Results may not total 100% due to rounding.

Sticking with political news, talk of Brexit continues to resurface. On Thursday, EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier rebuffed certain parts of the U.K.’s new proposals on trade, however, both Barnier and his counterpart Dominic Raab shared a desire to reach a deal by October.

In Asia, markets were mostly mixed Friday, while in the U.S., markets closed in different directions after Facebook’s quarterly earnings underwhelmed investors.

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