Factors for today's European trading

European stocks are expected to open lower on Friday as investors digest the latest growth data from China and look ahead to a key oil summit this weekend, Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF open on Friday.

Asia markets were mixed in the final trading day of the week, amid a muted reaction to China's gross domestic product (GDP) numbers for the first quarter, which matched forecasts.

China's first quarter GDP expanded by 6.7 percent on-year, in line with forecasts that growth has moderately eased, Reuters reported. For the December quarter, the reading came in at 6.8 percent.

In the currency market, the Australian dollar was sharply higher, climbing to $0.7715 following the data release. Before the release, the Aussie traded around $0.7686. China is a big market for Australian exports, and the Aussie tends to move in tandem with Chinese data.

U.S. sovereign bond prices pared their losses slightly Thursday after the Treasury Department saw solid demand at a 30-year bond auction.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, rose to 1.787 percent.

Earnings come from Carrefour and Man Group.