European Stocks Rise in Slow Trade

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- European markets were posting small gains in Friday trading as the major indexes were close to important price levels.

The German DAX opened the day below the 5750.00 area, the same place where the market topped over the three weeks of trading. The U.K. FTSE is in a similar situation, starting the trading session below the 5200.00 resistance area, the high of the last few trading sessions.

The European blue-chip companies, tracked by the DJ EURO STOXX 50 index, advanced only 0.1% during Friday morning trade, being outperformed by the Eastern European blue chip companies, which were up 0.5%.

S&P Futures: S&P 500 futures traded flat during the Asian session, but picked up some additional momentum as the European session approached. During the London open, the S&P futures had an attempt to break above the 1067.00 area, the high reached in Thursday trade but the move was retraced very quickly.

Sector Moves: The basic resources sector wass down for the first time this week in European trade. Until now, the basic resources sector was the star of the market, being responsible for most of the recent uptrend seen in the equity markets. However, offsetting these declines is the automobiles and parts sector, which is up 0.80%. The gains within this sector are led by Italy's Fiat, which is expected to report its third-quarter results in less than two weeks.

Telecommunications and technology stocks also gained in Friday trade, after Spain's Telefonica(TEF Quote) announced larger-than-expected dividends. Telefonica traded 1.8% higher om Spain's IBEX, being among the only shares that managed to stay above the break-even line in this Spanish market.

Economic Moves: The market is expecting data from the Canadian labor market at 7 a.m. EDT. Analysts say that the Canadian economy added jobs in September, but still the unemployment rate kept rising to 8.8%. Later in the day, at 8:30 a.m. EDT, the U.S. and Canadian trade balances will be published for August. Both countries are expected to have a deficit in August, with the deficit in the U.S. reaching $32.8 billion.