European markets are expected to open higher Friday, as earnings season and political turbulence in the region continues to dominate discussion.

Looking to the major bourses, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 is expected to open 30 points higher at 7,552, while the German DAX is set to start on a positive note, up 58 points at 13,047; and the French CAC up 22 points at 5,390, according to IG.

Corporate earnings season continues to be in full swing on the last trading day of the week, with several companies scheduled to post their latest figures.

A whole host of corporates reported earnings prior to the market open on Friday, including Axis, TomTom and IHG. Meanwhile, investors are also likely to react to Michelin and AccorHotels figures on Friday, as both reported earnings after Thursday’s market close.

Prior to the open, German automaker Daimler saw its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) decline 14 percent, delivering 3.46 billion euros in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, InterContinental Hotels Group said it remained confident in its outlook for the rest of 2017 despite “macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainties.” This comes after the hotelier posted a 2.3 percent rise in revenue per available room (RevPAR) during the third quarter globally.

Switching focus to politics, the second day of the EU Summit is set to take place in Brussels, with investors watching the event closely for any developments on certain political, economic or social issues.

On Thursday, Brexit and Catalonia were up for discussion at the summit. When it comes to Brexit, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May called upon fellow EU leaders to push ahead with negotiations, stressing both sides’ shared interest in security and free trade.

Following May’s appeal, German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed that she believed talks between both sides were moving forward, rather than fragmenting, according to Reuters.

Elsewhere, investors will likely be keeping a close eye on Catalonia, after news emerged Thursday that Spain’s central government would move to suspend the region’s autonomy after regional leader Carles Puigdemont failed to abandon a bid for independence.

In international markets, major indexes in Asia rose slightly on Friday, while Wall Street saw the Dow eke out a record close as investors digested the latest corporate earnings stateside.

The U.S. Senate meanwhilepassed a budget proposal that allowed Republicans to move closer to eventually passing tax reform. The measure was passed with a vote of 51-49.

In data news, current account data for Italy and the euro zone are due out in morning trade.

—Reuters contributed to this report