Bank of Japan officials are likely to discuss slowing their pullback from buying government bonds at a policy meeting later this month, according to people familiar with the matter. 

Asian stocks are mixed and European equity futures slightly lower ahead of US jobs data that may help clarify the path for Fed interest rate cuts. Meanwhile, ECB President Christine Lagarde unveiled an outlook that may be as good as it gets for the euro zone.

BlackRock is planning its second round of job cuts this year after the world's largest asset manager splurged on $28b of deals to wade deeper into private markets. The firm is set to cut about 300 people months after a similar move at the start of the year, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Treasury yields climbed Thursday as a selloff in European government bonds overshadowed weakening US labor market data.

In a formal assessment of US trading partners' foreign exchange practices, the Treasury Department declined to name any country a currency manipulator while singling China out for “its lack of transparency.”