Wall Street is set to open moderately lower on Friday as it awaits quarterly results from major US banks, while the trend in Europe remains buoyed by the prospect that the Federal Reserve will soon complete its rate hike.

Futures on New York indices are pointing to a lower opening, but we'll probably have to wait for the publication of quarterly results from JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo to see the trend take shape.

For the time being, the Dow Jones and Standard & Poor's-500 are down 0.2% and the Nasdaq 0.35%.

In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.25% to 7,499.27 at around 10:40 GMT, following an all-time high of 7,509.34 on the back of good results from Hermès. In Frankfurt, the Dax gained 0.21% and in London, the FTSE gained 0.34%.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by 0.34%, the Eurozone EuroStoxx 50 by 0.22% and the Stoxx 600 by 0.37%.

For many investors, the Fed is likely to raise interest rates only once more between now and the end of the year, as inflation and the labor market improve.

According to rate expectations, the US central bank is likely to raise the fed funds rate target by a quarter point in May, followed by a cut in July.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, a non-voting member of the FOMC, has indicated that a further 25 basis point increase could allow the bank to end its tightening cycle, while ensuring that inflation gradually returns to the 2% target.

"The risk of the Fed overdoing it and causing a hard landing in its fight against inflation has faded," said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg. "This supports the general 'risk on' mood in the markets. Earlier, the unexpected decision by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to keep its policy unchanged, following in the footsteps of the Canadian and Australian central banks, gave the Asian stock markets a boost.

STOCKS TO WATCH ON WALL STREET

Investors are now awaiting results from several major US banks, following recent tensions in the sector.

"We will be following discussions on deposits, credit criteria and any adjustments to bank funding that may be planned," said analysts at NatWest Markets.

In pre-market trading, Boeing lost over 4% after announcing a halt to deliveries of some 737 MAX aircraft due to a quality issue at supplier Spirit.

VALUES IN EUROPE

On the heels of LVMH's well-received quarterly sales figures, rival Hermès' publication of a sales increase exceeding expectations was greeted by a 0.98% gain in its share price.

The saddler's share price reached a new high, at 1,984.60 euros, as did LVMH (+0.67%) at 894.50.

Alstom fell by 3.10% following the announcement of the departure of its CFO and a downgrade by Deutsche Bank to "hold".

On the M&A front, Dechra soared 34.94%, as the British manufacturer of veterinary pharmaceuticals said it was in talks with fund EQT for a possible £4.63 billion (€5.23 billion) takeover bid.

CHANGES/TAXES

The dollar is heading for its longest weekly losing streak in almost three years as traders expect an imminent end to the Fed's rate hike cycle.

The greenback lost 0.12% against a basket of benchmarks and more than 1% on the week.

The euro edged up to $1.1058.

Benchmark bond yields are down slightly, at 3.4355% for ten-year Treasuries and 2.362% for its German equivalent.

OIL

Oil prices rose on Friday, as the International Energy Agency (IEA) said it expected global demand to reach a record level this year on the back of a recovery in Chinese consumption.

Brent crude gained 0.38% to $86.42 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) 0.4% to $82.49.

(Laetitia Volga, edited by Kate Entringer)

by Laetitia Volga