European stocks closed mostly higher to extend the positive momentum this week on strength in healthcare and luxury brands. The Eurozone's STOXX 50 inched higher to 5,651 and the pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.5% to 570, both at record highs. Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, Merck, and UCB rose more than 2%, extending their surge this week after the US Presidential Administration signaled that tariffs on pharmaceutical goods may be less aggressive than feared, while allowing patients to buy discounted prescription drugs through a new federal website. Luxury giants were also higher as markets assessed...
Asia-Pacific markets are set for a mixed open on Friday, after Wall Street benchmarks the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 posted their worst day in nearly two months on a downbeat Microsoft earnings forecast and MetaTrader results. Traders await a raft of economic data from the region, including Australia's third-quarter producer price index reading and China's Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers' index for October. Japan's Nikkei 225 appears set for a weaker open, with futures in Chicago at 38,470 and its Osaka counterpart at 38,370 against the index's last close of...