Marketmind: Caution prevails as Gaza truce begins

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Ankur Banerjee

A post-Thanksgiving caution is permeating markets with investors hesitant to place major bets ahead of what's likely to be a day of narrow range trading, although a four-day truce starting on Friday between Israel and Hamas may help sentiment.

Japan's core consumer price growth picked up slightly in October, reinforcing investors' views that stubborn inflation may push the Bank of Japan to roll back monetary stimulus before long.

The yen was little changed at 149.55 per dollar. The Asian currency has had a volatile two weeks, trading at near 33-year low of 151.92 at the start of last week before clawing back to a two-month high of 147.15 on Tuesday. [FRX/]

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.54% but remained on course to clock a near 7% gain for November, its strongest monthly performance since January. [MKTS/GLOB]

Futures indicated European bourses were set for a muted open and with a bare economic calendar, markets are likely to drift as holiday season kicks off.

For British consumers though, Black Friday is likely to be about hunting for refurbished and pre-owned bargains to save cash.

In company news, the spotlight will be on Barclays after Reuters reported that the British bank is working on plans to save as much as 1 billion pounds ($1.25 billion), which could involve cutting as many as 2,000 jobs, mainly in its back office.

Israel and Hamas start a four-day truce on Friday morning with the release of a first group of 13 Israeli women and child hostages expected later in the day.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said on Thursday that Chinese health authorities have not detected any unusual or novel pathogens and provided the requested data on an increase in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children.

And we end with a victory for Britain in litter-picking World Cup where 21 teams from around the world gathered in Tokyo this week to collect litter in the inaugural SpoGomi World Cup, an initiative aimed at raising awareness of environmental issues.

Key developments that could influence markets on Friday:

Germany's Q3 GDP data, German lfo business climate data for November

(Reporting By Ankur Banerjee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)