European stock markets are seen opening largely higher Friday, continuing the strong gains from the previous session as optimism over the region’s outlook strengthens as it gradually gets to grips with the Covid-19 pandemic.

At 2:05 AM ET (0705 GMT), the DAX futures contract in Germany traded 0.2% higher, the FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. rose 0.1%, while CAC 40 futures in France dropped 0.2%.

The major European indices closed sharply higher Thursday–with the DAX climbing 1.7%, the CAC 40 gaining 1.3% and the FTSE 100 1%–as investor appetite for riskier assets returned.

U.K. retail sales jumped 9.2% on the month in April, a substantial rise from the 5.1% increase the previous month, and indicative of consumers returning as shops gradually reopened.

The pan-European Stoxx 50 climbed up by 0.56% to 4,012.9. In the cash markets, the DAX futures Germany was trading up 0.15% to 15,390.48. CAC 40 futures in France up by 0.58% to 6379.05 while the FTSE 100 futures in the U.K. down 0.08% at 7,010.0, at the time of writing.

TECHNICAL INDICATORS

CAC 40: