BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks may open on a mixed
note Friday as weak U.S. data stirred fresh debate over when the Fed may start
cutting interest rates.

The dollar held firm ahead of the release of U.S. reports on existing home sales
and leading economic indicators later in the day.

FOMC member Thomas Barkin is set to speak later in the session.

In a discussion at the 2024 Michigan Bankers Association Convention on Thursday,
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari noted that it will probably take a year
or two to get inflation back to the central bank's 2 percent target.

Former Fed Bank of St Louis president James Bullard said he expects the pace of
U.S. monetary policy easing to be slow.

Despite Fed officials projecting only one rate cut in 2024, markets are pricing
in two quarter-point rate reductions this year, in November and December
respectively.

Closer home, U.K. retail sales figures and flash PMI readings from Britain,
France, Germany and the euro area may garner investor attention later in the
day.

Asian markets were broadly lower, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index falling more
than 1 percent as the yuan continued to weaken on concerns about rising
geopolitical tensions between China and the West.

Gold prices held steady after climbing more than 1 percent to their highest
level in two weeks Thursday on bets for interest rate cuts from the Federal
Reserve this year.

Oil prices were marginally lower in Asian trading after rising in the New York
session to hit a seven-week high.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight while Treasury yields rose as investors
reacted to mixed economic data and cautious comments from Fed officials on the
rate path.

Data showed a slight decline in jobless claims last week, sluggish homebuilding
in May and a drop in a business outlook survey within the Philadelphia Federal
Reserve District.

The Dow gained 0.8 percent to reach a nearly one-month closing high while the
tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.8 percent.

The S&P 500 briefly topped the 5,500 milestone for the first time ever before
closing 0.3 percent lower.

European stocks rose on Thursday after a slew of central bank decisions, with
the Swiss National Bank delivering another rate cut and the Bank of England
signaling its first rate cut in August.

The pan European STOXX 600 advanced 0.9 percent. The German DAX rallied 1
percent, France's CAC 40 climbed 1.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.8
percent.



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