European stocks were expected to open sharply higher on Friday following news that Greece won the consent of the European Union and International Monetary Fund for a new five year austerity plan.
The FTSE is expected to open 65 points higher at 5739, Germany’s DAX is predicted to be up 70 points to 7220 and the CAC 40 in Paris is called 50 points higher at 3838.
On Thursday, European shares fell to a three-month closing low as higher than expected weekly US jobless claims intensified concerns about the strength of the recovery there.
London’s FTSE closed down 98.61 points to 5674.38, the DAX was down 128.75 points to 7149.44 and the CAC 40 fell by 83.58 points to 3787.79.
In Asia stocks edged up on Friday as news of a deal on Greece countered concerns over US and global growth.
US stocks ended mixed on Thursday despite a new austerity plan for Greece, as investors remained cautious off the back of jobs dataand the Federal Reserve’s gloomy remarks on Wednesday.
The euro extended its rebound from one-week lows in Asia on Friday in response to the Greek aid agreement.
The single currency last traded at $1.4257, having bounced off a trough around $1.4125.
Against the Swiss franc, the euro rose from a record low around 1.1838 francs to last stand at 1.195 francs.
European heads of state will meet in Brussels on Friday for a European Council Meeting, where Greek debt aid, migration and Croatia’s accession to the EU will be on the agenda.
Chinese premier Wen Jiabao will visit the Hungarian capital Budapest on Friday, before traveling to London.
Bank of England Governor Mervyn King will chair a press conference in London on Friday at 10:30 am local time to coincide with the publication of the Monetary Policy Committee’s first Financial Stability Report.
In Frankfurt, Prime Office AG will be floated with a volume of about 340 million euros.
Economic data out on Friday includes Spanish PPI for May which will be released at 8:00 London time and the French consumer confidence survey for June will be available from 7:45.
Greek provisional data on external trade for April will be out at 10:00 London time.