·         European stocks were slightly lower on average Thursday as the European Central Bank formally brought its 2.6 trillion euro ($3 tn) QE program to a close.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was little changed from the previous session, provisionally slipping 0.16 percent.

·         The ECB is to end to its crisis-era bond-buying program this December after nearly four years. European lenders have generally been critical of the central bank’s QE program, arguing it has a negative impact on their net interest income. Unicredit was among those leading the gains, up 1.4 percent on the prospect of the ECB ending its contentious stimulus program.

·         Stocks seesawed on Thursday while investors digested new developments in the ongoing U.S.-China trade war and Wall Street’s volatile week approached its end.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 70.11 points higher at 24,597.38 after alternating between gains and losses throughout the day. The S&P 500 fell marginally to 2,650.54, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.4 percent to 7,070.33 as Amazon and Alphabet gave up their initial gains.

Equities rose broadly earlier in the day, with the Dow rising more than 200 points at its session high. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both rose as much as 0.7 percent.

·         Asia shares started Friday’s trading session in negative territory following the decline in European markets and a mixed session on Wall Street overnight.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 0.55 percent from Thursday’s 21,816.19 points, while the Topix index was down 0.27 percent after closing at 1,616.65 yesterday.

·         The Bank of Japan released the closely watched survey before Japanese markets opened on Friday. The Tankan survey showed confidence among large Japanese manufacturers was steady in December compared to three months ago. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a deterioration in sentiment.

Reference: CNBC