China's second biggest economy slowly but surely shakes off its COVID restrictions due to soft demand and weak economic activity. The path to reopening is not smooth and straight forward, with some finding it hard to break out of habits formed during the strict lockdowns.
The investors are riding on the reopening optimism. An index of Chinese gambling stocks has gone up more than 60% in two weeks, while the spectre of an economic slowdown looms large. The interest rates will be determined by the next week's slate of central bank meetings.
With market events scarce until next week, the spotlight will be on U.S. producer price inflation figures later in the day for more clues about the health of the U.S. economy.
More than 14,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into a creek in Kansas, which shut down the Keystone pipeline in the United States. Oil remains near one-year lows, as demand offsets the strain on supply in Ukraine.
The cause of the leak is unknown and is the third spill of several thousand barrels of crude on the pipeline since it opened in 2010.
Microsoft's $69 billion deal to acquire Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard faces antitrust lawsuits from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which is trying to block the biggest gaming industry deal.
The markets could be affected by key developments on Friday:
Economic events: U.S. PPI data for November, Norway CPI data for November
Speakers: ECB's Christine Lagarde, Deputy Governor of Riksbank Per Jansson, and Deputy Governor of the Riksbank.