European Shares Poised For Firm Open On US-China Trade Optimism

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening mostly higher on Thursday after January's delayed U.S. jobs report signaled a resilient labor market and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. has a very "comfortable" relationship with China, fueling hopes the countries will likely extend their trade truce at an upcoming Beijing summit.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in early April and the trade truce negotiated in Korea last year is likely to be extended by up to a year, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, citing multiple sources.

The agreement, first struck on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Busan, rolled back tariffs and export controls, with China resuming purchases of U.S. soyabeans.

In economic releases, trading later in the day may be impacted by reaction to the latest U.K. GDP data and U.S. reports on weekly jobless claims and existing home sales.

On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release a report on consumer price inflation that may shed additional light on the outlook for rates.

Asian stocks were mixed, with mainland China and Hong Kong markets declining while Japan's Nikkei extended its post-election rally, breaching 58,000 for the first time. Gold slipped on a firmer dollar as January's jobs data bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady for longer than previously anticipated.

The Japanese yen continued to strengthen, touching a two-week high amid easing fiscal concerns.

The Canadian dollar was little changed after the U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to overturn President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada.

Oil prices rose for a second day, with WTI crude futures climbing toward $65 a barrel after rising over 1 percent in the previous session on heightened Middle East tensions.

Overnight, U.S. stocks fluctuated before closing lower as Treasury yields surged after the release of upbeat jobs data.

Data showed non-farm payroll employment jumped by 130,000 jobs in January after rising by a downwardly revised 48,000 jobs in December.

The jobless rate dipped from 4.4 percent to 4.3 percent, but revised data showed the world's largest economy generated far fewer jobs in 2024 and 2025 than was initially estimated.

The Dow slipped 0.1 percent, the S&P 500 edged down marginally and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gave up 0.2 percent.

European stocks ended mixed on Wednesday amid another session of contrasting corporate earnings news. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended little changed with a positive bias.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 surged 1.1 percent as commodity-linked shares rallied. France's CAC 40 slid 0.2 percent and the German DAX dropped half a percent.