In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 was higher by 0.67 percent with almost every sector rising supported by solid corporate results. William Hill fell to the bottom of the European benchmark, down by 8.14 percent. The company reported a pretax loss for the first half of the year, saying this was caused by new laws on betting terminals. Mondi shares rose 7.9 percent after first-half results. Royal Bank of Scotland rose 2.9 percent after reporting its latest results. The bank said it was on track to deliver its first dividend in 10 years.

In Currency Markets sterling fell back below $1.30 on Friday after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said there was an “uncomfortably high” risk of Britain leaving the European Union without a deal. The pound dropped 0.3 percent to an 11-day low of $1.2975, close to the 10-month low of $1.2958, before recovering slightly as the dollar fell. Sterling’s weakness this week has coincided with a broad rally in the greenback. Against the euro, sterling recovered and was flat at 89.040 pence.

In Commodities Markets brent oil futures steadied under $74 a barrel on Friday, holding onto gains from the previous session as trade concerns provided a headwind to a further rally. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 27 cents at $68.69 a barrel. Brent crude futures were at $73.42 per barrel, down 3 cents from their last close. Low stocks were still providing a floor as overall U.S. crude inventories are below the 5-year average of around 420 million barrels.

In US Equity Markets stocks were flat on Friday, after gains in the consumer staples sector, boosted by Kraft Heinz’s strong earnings, were offset by data which showed job growth slowed in July and as China proposed new tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods. Kraft Heinz jumped 5.7 percent after it topped quarterly profit and revenue estimates as the velveeta cheese maker raised prices of its products. Symantec slipped 14 percent, and was the biggest decliner on the S&P, after the antivirus software maker lowered its yearly revenue forecast.

In Bond Markets yields on 7-year notes led the fall in U.S. government bond yields across maturities on Friday as China unveiled retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion of American-made goods and as American job growth slowed more than expected in July. The 5-, 7- and 10-year note yields all fell more than 2 basis points in midmorning trade, with the 7-year yield down 2.5 basis points from late Thursday to 2.910 percent. The benchmark 10-year note yield was last at 2.964 percent, down 2.2 basis points from yesterday.