· European stocks ended higher Friday afternoon, after U.K. lawmakers voted on Thursday night to seek delay of a potentially chaotic exit from the European Union for at least three months.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed provisionally 0.73 percent higher during afternoon deals, with major bourses and most sectors in positive territory.
· Stocks posted strong weekly gains, led by tech shares, as investors cheered renewed optimism on the U.S.-China trade front on Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 138.93 points to 25,848.87 as Boeing shares turned around to close 1.5 percent higher. Boeing's turnaround was sparked by a report saying the company planned to roll out a software upgrade for its 737 Max aircraft. The stock had been under pressure all week after an Ethiopian Airlines flight using a 737 Max plane crashed on Sunday, which prompted several countries to ground flights involving the plane.
Gains in the tech and consumer discretionary sectors pushed the S&P 500 up 0.5 percent to 2,822.48. Tech shares also bolstered the Nasdaq Composite, which climbed 0.8 percent to 7,688.53.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both rose at least 2.9 percent, though the laggard Dow gained only 1.7 percent amid Boeing's troubles. The S&P 500 also posted its biggest one-week gain since November.
· Shares in Asia gained in Monday morning trade as investors awaited developments on the U.S.-China trade front.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.59 percent as shares of index heavyweights Fast Retailing, Softbank Group and Fanuc all jumped. The Topix index also advanced 0.33 percent.
Over in South Korea, the Kospi was marginally higher as shares of chipmaker SK Hynix rose 0.73 percent.
Reference: CNBC
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