The Latest: Wall Street set to join the rebound at the open
By Associated Press
Feb 12, 2016 6:36 AM CST
People stand in front of an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Friday, Feb. 12, 2016. Japan's main stock index dived Friday, leading other Asian markets lower, after a sell-off in banking shares roiled investors in the U.S. and Europe. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)   (Associated Press)

LONDON (AP) — The latest on the turmoil afflicting global financial markets (all times local):

12:35 p.m.

Wall Street is set to track European stock markets higher when it opens for trading, at the end of a tumultuous week that has stoked talk of a full-blown crash.

Dow futures are pointing to a 150 point, or 1 percent, advance at the open. That's short of the rebound many European markets are enjoying. The Stoxx 600 index of European shares, for example, is up 2 percent at 309.65.

A bounce back in the price of oil is widely credited for the more positive tone in stock markets. On Friday, the benchmark New York rate was trading around 4 percent higher at $27 a barrel.

Confidence remains low, however, that Friday's rebound in stocks and oil prices marks a turning point.

Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA, sees "no reason to believe that any short-term rallies won't continue to be sold into, as they have repeatedly this year."

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12:00 p.m.

Bank stocks are among the top risers in European markets, led by Germany's Commerzbank, which has announced its first dividend since 2007.

Commerzbank said Friday it was proposing a dividend of 20 euro cents per share for the 2015 financial year after it posted upbeat earnings. That marks something of a turnaround for the bank, which has struggled to overhaul its business since the global financial crisis

Shares in Commerzbank were up 17 percent, helping to push the German DAX stock index up 1.5 percent.

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10:20 a.m.

Official figures have confirmed that the 19-country eurozone's economy grew 0.3 percent in the final quarter of 2015 compared with the previous three-month period.

The figure was in line with expectations, and European markets remained higher after its release.

The growth is, however, relatively weak considering the region has been benefiting from low energy costs, an export-boosting drop in the euro's value and monetary stimulus from the central bank.

The figure also suggests the bloc may be somewhat vulnerable to shocks in 2016, particularly the turmoil that has engulfed global financial markets.

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9:30 a.m.

The main economic release Friday is the first estimate of fourth-quarter economic growth across the 19-country eurozone.

Following a flurry of releases, including news that Germany expanded by a quarterly rate of 0.3 percent, there is a growing consensus that the eurozone also grew at the same 0.3 percent tick.

The recent turmoil in global financial markets has raised fears that growth will falter this year.

Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at Capital Economics, says the downside risks have increased and as a result he thinks the European Central Bank will back "further decisive policy support" at its March meeting.

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8:20 a.m.

European stock markets have opened higher following a rebound in the price of oil and despite another slide in Japan's main stock index.

Soon after the open, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 1 percent at 5,591 while the CAC-40 in France rose 1.6 percent to 3,960.

The increases, seen across Europe, come at the end of what's been a tumultuous week in financial markets with investors fretting over the scale of the global economic slowdown and the ability of banks to weather the storm. Those concerns still weighed heavily Friday on Japan's Nikkei index, which fell 4.8 percent.

One reason why sentiment has improved in Europe is that oil prices bounced back from 13-year lows. A barrel of benchmark New York crude was up 3 percent at $27.

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