European Shares Poised For Steady Open

(RTTNews) - European stocks look set to open a tad higher on Friday despite U.S. President Donald Trump reiterating tariff, tax threats on foreign countries in his inaugural address at the World Economic Forum 2025 in Davos.

Rate-cut optimism prevails after ECB Governing Council member Jose Luis Escriva said another reduction in borrowing costs at next week's meeting is very probable.

With risks around the inflation outlook broadly balanced and policymakers lining up behind further interest rate cuts, markets are currently pricing in three to four rate cuts from the ECB this year.

The European economic calendar remains light, with Eurozone HCOB manufacturing & services PMI data awaited later in the day.

Across the Atlantic, a report on existing home sales along with a revised reading on consumer sentiment may garner some attention.

On the earnings front, American Express, Ericsson and Verizon are among the prominent companies due to report their quarterly results before the U.S. opening bell.

Asian stocks were broadly higher, with Japanese markets giving up early gains as the Bank of Japan raised its interest rates to 0.5 percent, the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, and signaled more increases to come if GDP and price growth hit forecasts.

The yen strengthened and Japanese government bond yields rose to fresh multi-year highs after the BoJ rate hike announcement.