A look at the day ahead in European and global markets

By Tom Westbrook, Chief Correspondent

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Traders were hunkering down into the weekend, with threats flying between the U.S. and Iran, and nerves rippling through markets from listed private equity funds.

PMI surveys, U.S. PCE and GDP data and a smattering of corporate earnings headline the calendar, but politics and the risk of war seemed to loom largest in investors' minds as the dollar headed for its largest weekly rise in four months.

U.S. President Donald Trump has set a deadline of 10 to 15 days for Iran to cut a deal over its pursuit of nuclear weapons, or face "really bad things".

It is classic Trump theatre, so asset prices have not yet moved a great deal. But the U.S. has sent aircraft carriers, warships and jets to the region and traders are poised to send oil and the dollar higher in the event of conflict.

Iran said it would respond if attacked.

Brent crude futures <LCOc1> have topped $72 a barrel - a 6-1/2 month high - and the dollar was firm in the Asia session.

Closed gates at the entrance to Area 51 as an influx of tourists responding to a call to 'storm' Area 51, a secretive U.S. military base believed by UFO enthusiasts to hold government secrets about extra-terrestrials, is expected in Rachel, Nevada, U.S. September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

Trump, meanwhile, posted about aliens on social media, saying he would order Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and other agencies to release government files related to aliens and unidentified flying objects.

It makes you wonder what he is trying to distract from.

Walmart's new boss sounded cautious on consumer spending on Thursday. 

And private equity stocks hit the skids after Blue Owl's <OWL.N> latest strategy to return capital from a small debt fund spooked investors.

Blue Owl said it sold $1.4 billion in assets, to return some of the proceeds to investors, and permanently removed an option for quarterly redemptions at one fund - playing into already swirling concerns about valuations and liquidity at PE funds.

Blue Owl BDC's CEO Craig Packer speaks during an interview with CNBC on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., November 19, 2025. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Graphics are produced by Reuters.