· European stocks were slightly higher Wednesday afternoon, amid rising hopes the world's two largest economies could soon secure a trade deal to end a protracted dispute.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed provisionally up around 0.7 percent on Wednesday, with most sectors and major bourses in positive territory.
In the U.K., three lawmakers from Britain's ruling Conservative Party announced they had quit to join a new centrist group in Parliament on Wednesday. They issued a joint statement saying the government's handling of Brexit had been "disastrous."
· Shares in Asia recouped early losses on Friday, buoyed by strong gains in China as signs of progress in trade talks with the United States offset worries about a deteriorating global economic outlook.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.3 percent higher by mid-afternoon, having spent the day dipping in and out of negative territory.
A combination of trade talks and Federal Reserve caution over further rate hikes has provided support to riskier assets, including equities, in recent sessions, said Rob Carnell, chief economist and head of research, Asia-Pacific at ING.
· Japan’s Nikkei snapped four straight days of gains on Friday as weak U.S. economic data dampened sentiment, though the selling was contained by more signs of progress in U.S.-China trade talks.
The Nikkei share average dropped 0.2 percent to 21,425.51, while it posted a 2.5 percent gain for the week.
· Chinese stocks climbed on Friday to post their best weekly gains in years, led by gains in brokerage firms, amid hopes of a Sino-U.S. trade deal before the March 1 deadline, after which the United States plans to hike tariffs on Chinese goods.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 2.3 percent, to 3,520.12 points, its highest closing level since July 26, 2018, while the Shanghai Composite Index ended up 1.9 percent at 2,804.23 points, its highest close since September 2018.
Investors continued to closely watch high-level talks between U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators in Washington, with little more than a week left before a U.S.-imposed deadline for an agreement expires, triggering higher tariffs.
Reference: Reuters,CNBC
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