By Medha Singh
(Reuters) -European shares ticked higher on Friday, with Germany’s benchmark index notching an all-time high, as investors bet on de-escalation in the trade war ahead of discussions between the U.S. and China over the weekend.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.3%, as of 0940 GMT, with all regional bourses trading higher. Frankfurt’s DAX index climbed 0.6%.
BP shares rose 3.5% after a Financial Times report said Shell, Chevron, Exxon Mobil and TotalEnergies and ADNOC have “run the numbers” for a possible takeover of the oil major.
Energy and basic resources clocked in the most gains among European sectors, rising 1.9% and 1%, respectively.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday predicted import tariffs on Beijing of 145% would likely come down as officials from the world’s top two economies gear up for negotiations in Switzerland.
Washington will roll out dozens of trade deals over the next month but a 10% tariff imposed on most countries will likely stay, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC on Thursday, as the U.S. announced a limited bilateral trade agreement with the UK.
“The reason that global equities are kicking on is just the hope that this U.S.-China update on the weekend in Switzerland is going to be ‘something’,” said Benjamin Ford, strategist at Macro Hive.
The STOXX 600 is heading for its fourth straight weekly gain, climbing about 13.7% from its early April trough on hopes that the U.S. will strike deals to avert a damaging trade war. European assets have also benefited from investment flows away from the United States.
Corporate results on Friday were also largely upbeat.
Commerzbank shrugged off early weakness to rise 2.9% after the German lender posted a surprise profit growth in the first quarter.
Sonova climbed 3.2% after the Swiss hearing aids maker forecast higher sales and profitability for its 2025/26 fiscal year.
Shares in Bavarian Nordic jumped to their highest since February-end after the Danish biotech firm’s first quarter revenue beat market expectations.
Of the 149 companies in the STOXX 600 that had reported first-quarter results until Tuesday, 58.4% exceeded analyst estimates for earnings, well above the beat rate of 54% in a typical quarter, according to LSEG IBES data.
A busy week of central bank meetings concludes with the U.S. Federal Reserve holding rates and the Bank of England delivering a quarter-point rate cut, against the backdrop of a global trade war that threatens to slow growth and stoke inflation.
(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Eileen Soreng)
