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BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WARSH FOR

Stocks and commodities are down, the dollar and bond yields are up, and markets have turned firmly risk-off after U.S. President Donald Trump said he has decided who he will nominate to lead the Federal Reserve.

Kevin Warsh's name has rocketed to the top of the prediction markets after the two met at the White House.

While Warsh, a former Fed governor, is seen as an advocate of lower interest rates, he is also considered to be one of the less radical choices among the various candidates that have been raised and perhaps more cautious on heavy monetary stimulus than others.

S&P 500 e-mini futures EScv1 slid 0.4% and Nasdaq e-mini futures NQcv1 were off 0.5% after Reuters reported Warsh visited the White House for a meeting on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Bloomberg News later reported the Trump administration was preparing to nominate Warsh as the next Fed chair.

With the market weighing the implications of the pick, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS tumbled as much as 1.3%, taking the shine off the benchmark's best monthly gain of the past three years.

In early European trade, pan-region futures STXEc1 were last up 0.6%, German DAX futures FDXc1 gained 0.5% and FTSE futures FFIc1 climbed 0.2%.

Brent crude LCOc1 was last down 1.4% at $69.74 as oil markets weighed heightened geopolitical risks, after Trump on Thursday signed an executive order declaring a national emergency and establishing a process to impose tariffs on goods from countries that sell or otherwise provide oil to Cuba. Trump also said he was planning to talk to Iran amid rising tensions.

However, there's been no word yet on what Trump thought of the "Melania" film premiere on Thursday. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a U.S. official told Reuters that attendance at the big-budget documentary about First Lady Melania Trump was seen as obligatory for cabinet officials, many of whom attended the glitzy event at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Key developments that could influence markets on Friday:

Company results:

Exxon Mobil, Chevron, American Express, Verizon, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Aon, CaixaBank

Economic events:

France: Consumer spending and producer prices for December, preliminary GDP for Q4

Germany: Unemployment, preliminary CPI and HICP for January, flash GDP for Q4, import prices for December

UK: Bank of England consumer credit and mortgage lending for December

Euro zone: Flash preliminary GDP for Q4, unemployment rate for December

Debt auctions:

UK: 1-month, 3-month and 6-month government debt

(Gregor Stuart Hunter)

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