· European stocks ended subdued Thursday after weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data gave investors cause to anticipate that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its upcoming July meeting.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended Thursday’s trade marginally higher with, telecoms leading gains with a 0.8% climb while utilities stocks fell 0.9% at the close.

· Stocks in Asia were muted on Friday morning ahead of the upcoming release of the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which may provide clues as to whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its monetary policy meeting at the end of July.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 and Topix were near flat in early trade.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi saw fractional gains, even though shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics fell more than 1% after reporting that second-quarter profit likely dropped 56% as compared to a year ago.

Reference: Reuters, CNBC