Other countries in Asia are complaining that talks with the U.S. are proving difficult, in part because it was not clear what the White House wanted. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Thursday he could not say if tariff negotiations could conclude by next Tuesday, while Japan has invoked national interests as talks with the U.S. struggled.
Wall Street futures are 0.1% firmer, while EUROSTOXX 50 futures were up 0.2%.
Looking ahead, the main risk event for markets will be U.S. payrolls figures due later in the day. Stakes are high after a private sector payrolls report surprised with the first fall in more than two years.
Analysts are forecasting a rise of 110,000 jobs in June with the jobless rate ticking up to 4.3%. Given market pricing of just a 25% probability for a July Fed rate cut, a weak report could shift the dial big-time, sending Treasuries rallying and the dollar lower.
Sterling was flat at $1.3633. It slid 0.8% overnight on investor anxiety over Britain's finances after the government's reversal on welfare reforms, which also caused gilt yields to jump.
