Europe open: Markets rise on trade war hopes, impeachment inquiry eyed
European stocks were higher on Friday morning, as Chinese purchases of US agricultural goods boosted hopes of a trade war solution, though political uncertainty still lingered in Washington.
At 0834 BST, the Stoxx 600 was 0.4% higher at 391.60, as the German DAX climbed by 0.4% to 12,339.25 and France's CAC 40 rose by 0.3% to 5,636.21. Meanwhile, London's FTSE 100 was up 0.9% at 7,419.81.
Beijing said it had purchased a “considerable” amount of American farm goods such as pork and soybeans ahead of the next round of trade talks with the US, while CNBC reported that trade negotiators from the two superpowers were set to meet on 10 October.
Michael Hewson, market analyst at CMC Markets, said: "This was taken as a positive, in a week when the dominating narrative has been one of negatives, and pessimism around the trade story."
Still in Washington, the presidential impeachment storyline continued following the release of a whistleblower complaint, which claimed Donald Trump pressured Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky into investigating political rival Joe Biden and his son.
Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson said: "Markets won’t like these impeachment hearings but ultimately the risk of Mr Trump being ousted by Congress appears very slim indeed."
Investors were also digesting fresh data from Asia, which showed Chinese industrial profits dropped by 2% in August compared to a year earlier, down from a 2.6% rise in July, according to the country's National Bureau of Statistics.
Weak domestic demand, the ongoing trade spat with the US and disruption from poor weather were cited as the causes of the contraction, with the Chinese government thought to be likely to introduce new measures to stimulate domestic demand.