European markets opened lower on Friday as investors closely monitored news from China over its zero-Covid policy and looked ahead to U.S. non-farm payrolls data.
Britain’s FTSE 100 index, France’s CAC and Germany’s DAX all fell, and all sectors were in the red. Oil and gas led losses, down 1% shortly after the open.
It comes shortly after the European Union tentatively agreed to a $60 barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil, according to a document seen by Reuters. The price cap, an idea proposed by the Group of Seven, still requires approval from all 27 EU governments in a written procedure on Friday.
Data releases in Europe include German import and export data and producer prices for the euro zone.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed down 0.1% in the previous session.
Markets in Asia-Pacific were lower on Friday after China signaled a slight easing of its stringent Covid restrictions. Stocks in Japan led losses, with the Nikkei 225 last seen 1.6% lower and the Topix falling 1.6%.
Stateside, S&P 500 futures were slightly lower as market participants looked ahead to the November jobs report.
Economic data including the Labor Department’s report on non-farm payrolls, the unemployment rate and hourly wages are due at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday. Economists expect the economy to have added 200,000 jobs in November, according to Dow Jones. That would be a decrease from the 261,000 it added in October.
