LONDONTOKYO, April 12 Reuters European stocks were on track to race ahead of Wall Street on Friday, with exporter shares in high demand as the continent39;s major currencies dropped against a dollar standing tall on bets the U.S. Federal Reserve would keep interest rates high.

Europe39;s broad Stoxx share index, rose 1.1 on Friday morning as a weak euro flattered the domestic value of exporters39; dollar earnings.

London39;s FTSE 100 was 1.3 higher, boosted by global mining and oil stocks.

Futures markets implied Wall Street39;s SP 500 share index, which is on track for its second weekly drop, would open 0.1 lower, while Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.3.

MSCI39;s allcountry equity index was steady, on course for its second weekly fall after hotterthanexpected consumer price data midweek forced traders to sharply pull back on U.S. ratecut bets.

Moneymarket pricing implied investors expect the Fed to reduce its main funds rate by about 45 bps this year. U.S interest rates are at a 23year high of 5.255.5 and traders started 2024 betting on about 150 bps of cuts.

In the near term it is going to be harder for the Fed to cut than for the European Central Bank, said Marcelo Carvalho, global head of economics at BNP Paribas.

The U.S. labour market is strengthening and its economy is outshining global peers, while euro zone inflation is dropping towards the ECB39;s 2 target as growth and bank lending in the euro currency bloc weaken.

Investors are starting to wonder if…