By Georgi Kantchev 

Global stocks were mostly flat Friday after European Union leaders agreed to a short Brexit delay, while investors weighed further signs of a sluggish global economy.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was broadly flat in morning trade, and Asian stocks finished slightly higher. On Wall Street, futures pointed to 0.2% opening falls for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Late Thursday, European Union leaders allowed U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May to postpone the Brexit deadline beyond next week, but warned Britain could still crash out of the bloc in mid-April. EU leaders decided that if the British Parliament approves a Brexit deal next week, the bloc would extend the Brexit deadline until May 22. If Mrs. May's Brexit deal isn't approved, the U.K. would have until April 12 to indicate what it wants to do next.

"This will reduce the cliff edge risk for next week but assuming Parliament won't support May's deal, the U.K. will within three weeks face a choice between a long extension or a no-deal Brexit," Jim Reid, strategist at Deutsche Bank, said in a note to clients.

The British pound was flat against the dollar, trading at $1.311.

Investors were also contemplating mounting signs of a slowing economy and the implications for corporate earnings.

German and French purchasing managers indexes -- key indicators on the health of the manufacturing sector -- came in below expectations Friday. The U.S. equivalent is set to be released later in the day.

The Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise interest rates this year, officials indicated earlier this week, and may be nearly finished with the series of increases they began more than three years ago. On Wednesday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell suggested the central bank was likely to leave the policy rate unchanged for many months.

This change of tactic by the Fed has divided the market. For some, it is the latest sign that economic growth in the U.S. and around the world is slowing. For others, a more dovish Fed could prolong the bull market.

"The market is polarized: Half thinks we are in a bull market recovery and the other half thinks we are in a bear market rally," said Eoin Murray, head of investment at asset manager Hermes.

The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of 16 currencies, was down 0.1%. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell slightly to 2.526% from 2.537% Thursday. Yields move inversely to prices.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng were up 0.1%.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was down 0.1%, while gold prices rose 0.4%.

Write to Georgi Kantchev at georgi.kantchev@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 22, 2019 05:10 ET (09:10 GMT)

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