LONDON, Dec 3 - Chipmakers Infineon are expected to lead shares up on Friday after U.S. tech bellwether Intel raised its quarterly revenue outlook but ABB is set to plummet.
"The entire chip sector is expected to go higher after the good news from Intel," said Matthew Buckland, a trader at spreadbetters CMC Group.
British Airways will also grab attention ahead of its traffic statistics in an otherwise thin menu of corporate earnings.
Shares in ABB are set to tumble after a U.S. appeals court rejected the Swiss engineering group's bid for a $1.2 billion asbestos settlement that would end years of legal wrangling. ABB's ADRs fell as much as 14 percent overnight.
The U.S. non-farm November payrolls due at 1330 GMT will be key as markets brace for a much better-than-expected report.
European strategists and economists expect an above-consensus rise at about 275,000, which would further reinforce expectations for a U.S. interest rate hike later this month.
A poll conducted on November 24 showed that market consensus expects a 180,000 rise in payrolls last month.
MARKET OUTLOOK
* Financial bookmakers in London expect the FTSE 100 , CAC-40 , and DAX to open between 5 and 18 points higher.
* The FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of leading European shares ended near a 2-1/2 year high at 1,038.59 points, up 0.36 percent, boosted by upbeat insurers and drugmakers.
* U.S. stocks closed little changed on Thursday, pausing after a sharp rally in the previous day. But after the closing bell, shares of Intel Corp shot 7 percent higher as the chipmaker raised its revenue target.
* U.S. Treasuries fell on Thursday, capping a week-long slide tied to prospects for ongoing rate increases by the Federal Reserve as the U.S. jobs market picks up steam. Benchmark U.S. 10-year yields were trading around 4.41 percent.
Comparable 10-year European government bonds yielded 3.82 percent.
* Battered U.S. crude oil futures struggled on Friday to shake off this week's $6 slump, but prices edged up to $43.3 a barrel after a massive round of selling triggered by easing worries about winter supply.
* The dollar edged up to 103.56 against the yen on Friday, building on a rebound from a five-year low ahead of closely watched U.S. jobs data. Dealers said the market continued to lock in profits from a round of dollar-selling on Thursday.
* In Tokyo, the Nikkei average ended at a two-week high after chip-related stocks were boosted by the bullish news from Intel.
* Other Asian indexes like the Kospi , Hang Seng and Straits Times were mixed.
* Gold fought back a stronger U.S. dollar in Asia to trade steady after posting hefty overnight losses as bullion lost lustre with investors.
COMPANY NEWS A U.S. appeals court rejected the Swiss engineering group's bid for a $1.2 billion asbestos settlement that would end years of legal wrangling and put a cap on asbestos claims filed by thousands of former workers.
European chip makers are expected to rise after U.S. peer Intel raised its quarterly revenue outlook, citing strong demand for microprocessors.
BRITISH AIRWAYS Europe's No. 2 airline reports traffic numbers after it reported a 23 pct jump in second-quarter profits in November but also warned high fuel costs and lower ticket prices would continue to weigh this year.
EADS is targeting $10 billion in defense and security sales in the United States, its top managers said, setting an ambitious goal for the European aerospace giant as it looks to crack the world's richest defence market.
WOLVERHAMPTON & DUDLEY ritain's biggest regional brewer reports annual earnings after it said in October that rising sales of pub food had helped boost trading despite the dank summer weather.
Travel and real estate company Cendant Corp. on Thursday said it will buy Britain's Ebookers Plc, owner of Europe's o. 2 online travel site, for about $404.3 million.