· European stocks opened slightly higher Friday morning, amid progress in the latest round of U.S.-China trade talks.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up around 0.1 percent shortly after the opening bell, with most sectors and major bourses in positive territory.
Market players monitored the latest developments in trade discussions between Washington and Beijing. President Donald Trump said Thursday that the two countries were making swift progress in talks, adding "we'll know over the next four weeks" whether an agreement can be reached.
Despite the positive news around trade, investors grew nervous amid worries over a potential economic slowdown in the euro zo
· Asian share markets consolidated their weekly gains on Friday as Sino-U.S. talks produced a lot of headlines but no conclusions, while caution ahead of U.S. payrolls and a holiday in China dampened volatility.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.1 percent but was only just off its highest since the end of August. The index was still up 1.8 percent for the week and 13 percent for the year so far.
· Japan’s Nikkei edged up on Friday to a fresh one-month high as expectations of an imminent U.S.-China trade deal prompted investors to buy back shares they had sold, while Japan Post Insurance, or Kampo, jumped on hopes of deeper privatisation.
The Nikkei share average rose 0.38 percent to 21,807.50, the highest close since March 4. For the week, the benchmark index was up 2.83 percent, the biggest weekly gain in about three months.
Japan Post Insurance soared 9.9 percent after an announcement the previous day that its parent Japan Post Holdings is selling nearly a third of its stake, a step aimed at advancing the privatisation of the Japan Post group.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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