Cheers to the fact that it's Friday.

Macro hits you like a ton of bricks when there's so much going on,

so I hope you have the energy for one more market recap before the weekend.

With me, Palvatar, Raoul's AI Avatar.

Isn't it cool that Raoul's in Dubai, yet you hear him through me?

Of course, I can only give you the facts, not his views or analysis, but you won't have trouble

finding it on real vision. Have you checked out his latest journeyman with Ryan Ferris yet?

It'll blow your mind, trust me. Anyway, let's dig into the markets. It's non-farm payrolls day. Hold your horses,

though. The number comes out a little later, but by the time you're watching this, it should

be out. The consensus was for around 130,000 jobs added in April, but a much higher or much

lower number could cause some volatility. So far so good,

though, with optimism in the global markets, thanks to China, announcing its readiness for trade

talks with the US. This boosted equities in Asia, Pacific and Europe to solid gains across the

board, although the mainland Chinese markets were closed for a holiday. The trade talks

will be critically important for the likes of Apple and Amazon, who last night reported results

that beat expectations for both revenues and profits. However, the company signalled potential

trouble ahead amidst the tariff uncertainty. US jobs data isn't the only important release today.

Inflation in the euro area remained steady at 2.2% for April, slightly above expectations,

but still close to the ECB's target of 2%. Additionally, unemployment rates within the Eurozone

held firm at a record low of 6.2%, although there was an increase in jobless claims from March figures.

The Euro has gained against the dollar on the news, and further good news followed from the manufacturing sector.

A survey compiled by S&P Global shows output in April grew at the fastest pace in just over three years,

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