The STOXX 50 gained 0.8% and the STOXX 600 added 0.6% on Friday on optimism over US trade progress with China and other trading partners. US and China trade deal has been signed and the White House downplayed the urgency of upcoming tariff deadlines, suggesting they could be extended, easing fears of a prolonged trade conflict.
EU leaders have been convening at a summit since yesterday to address US tariffs and formulate the bloc’s response. In addition, harmonised inflation in both France and Spain accelerated more than expected – to 0.8% and 2.2% respectively – but remained low enough to keep the ECB on track to continue cutting interest rates. The largest companies were trading in positive territory, including SAP (1.4%), Nestle (1.1%), LVMH (2.2%), Hermes (1.7%), ASML Holding (1.3%) and Novo Nordisk (2.9%). The auto sector was also among the top performers, namely Mercedes (2%), Stellantis (2.5%) and VW (1.3%). So far on the week, both the STOXX 50 and the STOXX 600 are up 0.2%.
