Europe open: Stocks rise amid renewed trade deal optimism
European stocks rose early on Friday, taking their cue from upbeat US and Asian sessions amid renewed optimism over trade talks between the US and China.
At 0850 BST, the benchmark Stoxx 600 index was up 0.7% at 385.23, Germanys' DAX was 1.1% higher at 12,294.49 and France's CAC 40 was 0.3% firmer at 5,586.63.
The mood was lifted after US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that trade talks with China were going "really well".
Han Tan, market analyst at FXTM, said: "Investors are ready to celebrate any form of a US-China trade deal, even an interim one, having endured trade-related volatility since May. The amount of market fanfare will correspond with the contents of the actual deal, assuming one will be announced later today.
"Investors are in sore need of a solid pick-me-up beyond mere whispers of a trade pact, and a formal agreement is likely to sustain risk sentiment for the rest of 2019. Still, investors are cognisant that a trade pact that marks a pause in tariff hikes without rolling back any of the tariffs imposed since last year would not solve all of the global economy’s existing problems."
On the corporate front, German software company SAP surged on the back of well-received third-quarter results and as it announced the departure of chief executive officer Bill McDermott.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx 600 oil and gas sub-index was up 1.1% at 309.02 as oil prices jumped following Iranian news reports that a state-owned oil tanker had been struck by two missiles in the Red Sea near Saudi Arabia. West Texas Intermediate was up 1.7% at $54.41 a barrel and Brent crude was 1.6% higher at $60.09.
On the downside, shares of French advertising giant Publicis slumped 11% after it cut its 2019 sales outlook again due to client losses in its US advertising business.
Germany's Hugo Boss also suffered heavy losses after downgrading its 2019 earnings forecast.