After a very volatile period for global markets it was once again up to U.S. markets to steady the ship on Friday night. European markets continued their recent slide, helping to lock in their first collective weekly loss in more than a month.

In London, the FTSE 100 dropped 42 points (-0.6%) to finish the session at 6654 while the German DAX lost 47 points (-0.6%) to finish off at 8305. In the U.S, the S&P 500 lost one point (-0.1%) to finish the session at 1650 while the blue-chip Dow Jones added nine points (+0.1%) to finish at 15303.

Crude oil had its biggest weekly drop in more than a month amid signs of rising U.S. oil inventories and a global economic slowdown. Oil futures slid by as much as 1% in New York.

Gold also lost ground, with bullion shedding 0.4% to settle at US$1388 an ounce.

The yen maintained gains versus the US dollar after its biggest weekly rally in a year amid speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve will reduce stimulus that spurred declines in riskier assets that may have risen too fast.

There is no major local economic data due out during today's session.

Morning Market Update: Calmer Start Expected is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog