U.S. futures and Asian markets were up slightly while European markets saw mixed trading Friday, after European Central Bank (ECB) Governor Mario Draghi noted that economic recovery in the EU was taking longer than expected.
Highlighting the risks to European economies at an event in Frankfurt, Germany, Draghi said global growth this year will be the weakest since 2009. "The recovery remains very protracted in historical perspective," he added.
U.S. futures markets pointed up with the Dow Jones Industrial Index, up about 0.37 percent, leading the pack. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were also up a little over 0.2 percent before markets opened. U.S. markets had been rallying this week after the Federal Reserve hinted that the U.S. economy was strong enough to raise interest rates in December.
European shares were mixed as Draghi said that weak Chinese demand for commodities and low inflation could trouble European markets well into next year. France’s CAC 40 was down by 0.22 percent, while Germany’s DAX was up 0.33 percent and London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.14 percent up. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.23 percent.
Markets were buoyant across Asia as investors locked in slight gains on the last trading day of the week, with shares in Hong Kong leading the region. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 1.31 percent while Shanghai Composite Index ended up 0.37 percent. The Nasdaq-style ChiNext Index was up 1.06 percent at close. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index and India’s BSE Sensex were both up 0.1 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi Index was also up marginally after the country’s finance minister, Choi Kyung-hwan, reportedly said that the government will help the economy achieve 3 percent or higher growth in 2016.