European stock indexes opened slightly lower on Friday but remain on track for a weekly gain as traders await the outcome of key talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

By 04:20 a.m. ET (08:20 GMT), the Euro Stoxx 50 index was down 6 points, or 0.2 percent, while the broader-based Stoxx 600 was unchanged. Italy’s FTSE MIB was the best performer, while France’s CAC 40 was down 0.4%, a day after the country’s President Emmanuel Macron warned that the state may have to nationalize “some energy companies” – presumably referring to Electricite de France.

The stock market looks set to end the week on the plus side; thanks to ongoing diplomacy, the positions of the two sides of the Russia-Ukraine conflict have moved an inch closer together since last weekend.

A vital part of this diplomatic process – despite its location on the other side of the world – is China, whose political support for Russia has softened the impact of Western economic sanctions on it. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned Thursday that “China will be held accountable for any actions it takes to support Russia, and we will not hesitate to bear the full costs.”

The currency market was generally stable, although the dollar hit a 6-year high against the yen after the Bank of Japan warned of the negative impact of the conflict in Ukraine on the Japanese economy, mainly due to higher commodity costs. That followed similar warnings from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England this week. The Bank of England raised its key rate at its third consecutive meeting to 0.75% on Thursday, but sterling weakened as the bank’s warning on the impact of the conflict put more emphasis on the downside risk to growth than the upside risk. So traders cut their bets on the Bank of England keeping pace with the Fed, which will tighten policy through 2022.

By 04:20 a.m. ET (09:20 GMT), the euro was down 0.1 percent to $1.1077, while the pound rose 0.1 percent to $1.3153. The dollar also traded at 118.90 yen, up 0.3% for the day.

A busy week for central bankers will conclude a little later with the Central Bank of Russia’s monetary policy meeting. Pressure on the ruble has eased in recent days, but it has lost a third of its value since the special operation began. President Vladimir Putin proposed Central Bank chief Elvira Nabiullina for a new term on Thursday, days after rumors circulated that she had unsuccessfully tendered her resignation.

Shares in Danish shipping giant Maersk rose 0.4% after it warned that a string of COVID-19 outbreaks in China could renew global supply chain disruptions, while Netherlands-listed Prosus, which owns Naspers, a strategic stake in Chinese internet giant Tencent, rose 2.3% as sentiment towards Chinese stocks continues to gradually improve.