Azernews.Az

By Bloomberg

European stock-index futures were little changed, with equities poised for their biggest weekly advance in a month.

Contracts on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index expiring next month lost 0.1 percent to 3,664 at 7:42 a.m. in London, paring a drop of 0.4 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index has rallied 2.5 percent this week after the European Central Bank said it plans to boost bond purchases in May and June. The benchmark measure closed at a three-week high yesterday, putting it 1.9 percent below an April record.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed Wednesday that officials didn’t expect to raise interest rates in June, even as they concluded a growth slowdown in the first quarter was probably temporary. Reports today may show jobless claims increased last week, while existing home sales rose 0.8 percent in April from a month earlier, economists forecast.

Investors are also watching developments in Greece, with the country’s prime minister due to engage with European leaders at a meeting in Riga, Latvia on Thursday. The ECB yesterday approved the smallest increase in emergency cash for the country’s lenders since tensions re-emerged in February, a sign that deposit outflows may be easing as political talks on the nation’s finances improve.

Shares of commodity producers may be active after preliminary data on a Chinese factory gauge came in at 49.1 in May, missing economists’ estimates and below the 50 level, indicating contraction.