26th Jul 2018 07:45
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (Alliance News) - European stocks look set to open higher on Thursday after the US and the EU stepped back from the brink of a trade war amid heightened tensions between them.
US President Donald Trump and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker have agreed to work for zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsidies on non-auto goods.
They also agreed to increase trade in services and agriculture, including greater US soybean exports to the EU.
Asian stocks crept higher, although the upside remained limited amid lingering concerns about the outlook for global growth.
Investors also awaited cues from US second-quarter GDP data on Friday and the Bank of Japan's policy meeting due next week.
Thursday's monetary policy meeting by the European Central Bank will be closely watched, with no immediate changes to policy expected.
The dollar lost ground against other major currencies while oil extended gains into a third day after Saudi Arabia said it would "temporarily halt" all oil shipments through the strategic Red Sea shipping lane of Bab al-Mandeb.
Overnight, US stocks rallied as traders reacted positively to a report about President Trump securing concessions from Europe in trade policies in an effort to ease relations with the US
Traders shrugged off disappointing guidance from General Motors and Boeing as well as weak housing data.
The Dow rose 0.7%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.2% and the S&P 500 added 0.9%.
Shares of chipmaker AMD surged as much as 7% in after-hours trading after its second-quarter earnings topped expectations. PayPal and Visa also posted solid earnings while Facebook's quarterly revenue and user growth fell short of Wall Street estimates.
European markets fell on Wednesday as German business sentiment data disappointed, earnings proved a mixed bag and traders braced for the key meeting between Trump and Juncker on trade.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index eased 0.3%. The German DAX dropped 0.9%, France's CAC 40 index slid 0.1% and the UK's FTSE 100 shed 0.7%.