By Gustav Sandstrom

 
 
TODAY'S CALENDAR - All times GMT 
Macro 
 
0600 UK July nationwide house 
     price index 
0830 UK July construction PMI 
0900 Eurozone June PPI 
1230 US July non-farm payrolls 
1230 US June personal income and 
     outlays 
1345 US July ISM-NY report on 
     business 
 
 
Nordic Equities 
 
0530 Fiskars 2Q 
0530 Sponda 2Q 
n/a  Meda 2Q 
 
 
Other Equities 
 
n/a  Allianz 2Q 
n/a  AXA 2Q 
n/a  Deutsche Lufthansa 2Q 
n/a  RBS 2Q 
n/a  Chevron 2Q 
 
 
IN FOCUS: 

U.S. non-farm payrolls data for July, due at 1230 GMT, will be a main highlight for Nordic investors Friday.

Consensus expectations are for around 150,000-200,000 new jobs and the reading could well come in towards the higher end of that range taking into account the solid ADP labor market data earlier this week, SEB Private Banking equity strategist Mattias Gredmark said.

"Most labour market indicators point to ongoing employment growth across private sector industries," HSBC said in a note to investors. "We estimate that June non-farm payrolls rose by 165,000," it said.

Other macroeconomic releases on Friday's agenda include euro-zone PPI data for June, and personal income and outlay figures as well as the ISM-NY business report from the U.S.

HSBC expects euro-zone PPI to be flat from the previous month, and to have increased to 0.3% from minus 0.2% on the year.

Market participants will also look forward to a bunch of second-quarter earnings reports from the Nordic region and abroad, from companies such as Swedish pharmaceutical concern Meda AB (MEDA-A.SK), U.K.-based bank RBS (RBS.LN) and U.S. oil major Chevron Corp. (CVX).

 
FOREX: 
 
EUR/NOK 
Latest 0350 GMT 7.8559-658 
Previous 2150 GMT 7.8527-603 
%Chg +0.06 
 
EUR/SEK 
Latest 0350 GMT 8.7144-224 
Previous 2150 GMT 8.7266-333 
%Chg -0.13 
 
USD/NOK 
Latest 0350 GMT 5.9459-524 
Previous 2150 GMT 5.9458-507 
%Chg +0.01 
 
USD/SEK 
Latest 0350 GMT 6.5956-6006 
Previous 2150 GMT 6.6075-116 
%Chg -0.17 
 
 
NORDIC CURRENCIES: 

The SEK weakened against the both the USD and the EUR Thursday after Swedish PMI fell in July; the USD strengthened further against both the NOK and the SEK as initial jobless claims and U.S. ISM figures came in on the strong side.

Friday brings currency investors one of the most important data releases of the month, the non-farm payrolls report, and while the release is always important, U.S. data has come under increased scrutiny this summer.

"Much of the movements in currency markets have been fuelled by speculation around tapering," Camilla Viland, currency analyst at DNB said. She noted the Federal Reserve has made tapering of its bond buying program conditional on jobs data developing positively, which means the jobs market data is even more closely watched than usual.

DNB has a slightly more positive view on the payroll data than consensus and Ms. Viland suspects strong data will support investors' view that tapering will begin sometime this autumn, and this will probably cause the USD to strengthen. She notes, however, that reaction to this Friday's number will likely be more subdued since investors have already come to expect that tapering is approaching and the focus has shifted to the timing.

 
STOCK INDEXES: 
 
OMXN40  1,170.32  +13.47   +1.2% 
OMXS30  1,248.38  +14.31   +1.2% 
OBX       458.98   +1.99   +0.4% 
OMXC20    560.72  +13.80   +2.5% 
OMXH25  2,364.32  +45.71   +2.0% 
 
Brent    $110.01  +$0.47   +0.4%% 
 
NORDIC MARKETS: 

Nordic stocks traded higher Thursday with investor sentiment boosted by solid PMI data from regions including China and the U.K. as well as comparatively dovish monetary policy comments overnight from U.S. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Market conditions have been favorable of late, with solid job creation in the U.S. combined with low inflation, allowing the Federal Reserve to maintain a pretty dovish stance, SEB Private Banking's Mr. Gredmark said.

Still, the Nordic stock markets are looking ripe for a correction sooner or later, he said.

Stocks in the region look technically overbought and the positive recent newsflow makes investor sentiment vulnerable to any negative surprises, Mr. Gredmark noted.

 
ENERGY: 

Crude oil prices are higher, tacking on to overnight gains on the back of upbeat economic data from Europe, the U.S. and China.

"When we see good economic numbers come out, it gives fuel to the fire on the energy side. There will be more oil demand even though we are well supplied," says Tariq Zahir, managing member of Tyche Capital Advisors.

Attention now shifts to U.S. jobs data. While positive data could provide another lift to crude, analysts say oil could take a step back after a big rally in the past two trading sessions.

September Nymex crude is at $108.53 a barrel, up 64 cents, while Brent North Sea crude for September is 47 cents higher at $110.01.

 
NEWS ROUNDUP: 

SWEDEN: Sweden's purchasing managers' index fell in July in a further sign that Scandinavia's largest economy is losing steam. The index, which measures activity in the manufacturing sector, fell to 51.3 from 53.5 in June, index compiler Swedbank said Thursday.

SWEDEN: Cash handling company Loomis AB (LOOM-B.SK) Thursday reported rising second-quarter net profit from a year earlier, helped by rising revenue and margins, and said it sees good potential for organic growth thanks to the contracts it secured in the quarter.

SWEDEN: Telecom operator TeliaSonera AB (TLSN.SK) Thursday said its Spanish subsidiary Yoigo has reached a series of agreements with Telefonica's (TEF) Movistar subsidiary enabling Yoigo to sell combined fixed-mobile services to its customers.

DENMARK: Lender Danske Bank A/S (DANSKE.KO) Thursday cut its full-year earnings guidance as financial market turbulence in June hit income from its insurance business and restricted trading income, despite posting a bigger-than-expected rise in second-quarter net profit.

DENMARK: Wind turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems A/S (WVS.KO) Thursday said it has received a firm and unconditional order for 35 V112-3.0 MW turbines for three wind power plants in South Africa.

FINLAND: Media company Sanoma Oyj (SAA1V.HE) Thursday posted a fall in second-quarter net profit as advertising markets and media circulation sales continued to deteriorate while last year saw gains from the sale of various businesses.

FINLAND: Construction company SRV Yhtiot Oyj (SRV1V.HE) Thursday reported an increase in second-quarter net profit, helped by a strong performance in Russia, and upgraded its full-year guidance for 2013.

FINLAND: Packaging producer Metsa Board Corp. (METSB.HE) Thursday posted a sharp drop in second-quarter net profit after last year was boosted by profits from divestments, and warned that the third-quarter pre-items operating result will be weaker than in the second quarter due to maintenance shutdowns.

Write to Gustav Sandstrom at gustav.sandstrom@dowjones.com

(Johannes Ledel in Stockholm contributed to this report.)