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The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up around 0.3 percent shortly after the opening bell, with most sectors and major bourses in positive territory.

·       Asian shares crept back from four-month highs on Friday as a dismal survey on Chinese factory activity dulled optimism about the prospects for a Sino-U.S. deal on tariffs.

Investor caution is also mounting ahead of U.S. jobs data later in the session with analysts unsure what impact the government shutdown might have had employment.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.2 percent, though that followed a stellar 7.2 percent gain in January.

“Analysts mostly remain deeply skeptical that a genuine trade deal can be done on this time frame,” economists from Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a note.

“We are less pessimistic since these negotiations are being conducted by senior politicians, not by trade bureaucrats,” they added. “Both sides also have an incentive, and arguably a growing incentive, to get a meaningful deal done.”

·       Japan’s Nikkei ended nearly flat on Friday, as dismal results from firms such as Nomura Holdings and Nintendo trimmed earlier gains from upbeat earnings in other sectors and a stronger Wall Street finish.

The Nikkei share average ended just 0.07 percent higher at 20,788.39, after climbing to a peak of 20,929.63, its highest since Dec. 19. For the week, the index dropped 0.1 percent.

“The market was split between a small number of strong gainers and losers,” said Chihiro Ohta, general manager at SMBC Nikko Securities. He added that the market could see similar moves next week as many companies post quarterly earnings. 

Nintendo Co stumbled 9.2 percent and was the most traded stock by turnover after it slashed its full-year hardware forecast for the hybrid home-portable Switch console, revising a figure that had been treated with scepticism by investors.

Separately, Nintendo said on Friday is was developing a mobile title with Line Corp in the company’s latest push into mobile gaming, which lifted Line’s shares by 8.9 percent.

Nomura Holdings tumbled 4 percent after the brokerage put its wholesale business under review, as the segment drove it to its heaviest quarterly loss in nearly 10 years.