European Shares Seen Opening Up As Trade Deal Hopes Prevail

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open on a positive note Friday as U.S.-China trade deal hopes prevail.

U.S. President Donald Trump refuted Beijing claims of no trade talks, asserting that talks are underway.

"They had a meeting this morning," Trump said Thursday about China but declined to say to whom he was referring.

China may consider exempting some U.S. goods from tariffs as the economic costs of the tit-for-tat trade war weigh heavily on certain industries, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Separately, the U.S. and South Korea had a "very successful" meeting on Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters at the White House. "We may be moving faster than I thought, and we will be talking technical terms as early as next week."

Traders may also react to earnings news from Intel and Google parent Alphabet, which have released their quarterly results after Thursday's market close.

Chipmaker Intel's quarterly outlook disappointed, sending shares lower in extended trading hours. Google-parent Alphabet reported first-quarter revenue and profit that exceeded analysts' expectations.

In economic releases, France's business climate index for April, U.K. retail sales figures for March and the University of Michigan final U.S. sentiment survey results for April may garner attention later in the day.

Asian markets were broadly higher, with tech-heavy Hang Seng, Nikkei and Kospi leading regional gains.

Japan's Nikkei was up nearly 2 percent after positive comments on U.S.-Japan trade talks and as lawmakers in the lower house passed the country's first regulatory bill for artificial intelligence in an attempt to position the nation as the most AI-friendly country in the world.

The dollar index jumped at the end of a volatile week, sending gold prices lower toward $3,300 per ounce.

Oil prices rose for a second straight session but headed for a weekly loss on expectations of increased OPEC+ supply and a possible ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war.

U.S. stocks rose overnight as chipmaker Texas Instruments gave a better-than-anticipated forecast, and traders hoped for favorable outcome from ongoing trade negotiations.

In economic releases, jobless claims rose in line with expectations last week and durable goods orders surged much more than expected in March, driven almost entirely by a 27 percent jump in transportation equipment, while sales of existing homes logged the biggest monthly drop since 2022 in March due to economic uncertainty and high home prices, separate reports revealed.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite soared 2.7 percent and the S&P 500 rallied 2 percent to extend gains for the third day in a row while the Dow advanced 1.2 percent.

European stocks recovered from an early slide to end mostly higher on Thursday. The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.4 percent.

The German DAX rose half a percent, France's CAC 40 added 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 finished marginally higher.