Seoul Gazette - Stocks lifted by hopes for US-China talks after UK deal

Britain and the United States reached a deal on trade on Thursday and President Donald Trump hinted that an easing of tariffs on China was possible as officials prepare for high-stakes talks this weekend.

"Coming hot on the heels of yesterday's UK-US trade deal, there is an air of optimism that we could see additional deals come to fruition around the globe," said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.

Frankfurt's DAX was up 0.6 percent in midday trading, after hitting a fresh high of 23,528.88 points, recouping losses spurred by Trump's April tariffs announcements.

Paris and London also climbed following a mixed showing in Asia and gains Thursday on Wall Street.

Tokyo and Hong Kong closed higher but Shanghai dropped as data showed China's exports to the United States plunged by around one fifth on-year in April as Trump's tariffs kicked in.

Oil prices jumped on hopes that easing tensions between the United States and China would alleviate fears of a slump in crude demand.

The dollar dropped after rallying on news of the US-UK trade deal.

The return of some confidence to the market boosted bitcoin, which topped $100,000 for the first time since February.

In the first trade deal since Trump's blitz of sweeping global tariffs, Washington agreed to lower levies on British cars and lift them entirely on steel and aluminium.

In return, Britain will open up markets to US beef and other farm products, but a 10 percent baseline levy on British goods remained intact.

"With the UK having basked in trade deal glory yesterday, the spotlight has now turned to China," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are set to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Switzerland this weekend -- their first formal talks since Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 145 percent.

Trump told reporters that he thought the talks would be "substantive" and when asked if reducing the levies was a possibility, he said "it could be".

That could see Beijing dial back some of its own 125 percent tariffs on US goods.

"China is America's biggest rival in the trade war and any sign of a compromise in their tit-for-tat tariff spat could be taken positively by markets," Mould added.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warned agreements with Japan and South Korea could take longer to reach, while adding that there was "a lot of work" in striking a deal with India.

Trump also flagged efforts at home to push through the tax cuts he promised during the election campaign.

In company news, shares in Commerzbank rose more than two percent after the German lender reported its best quarterly profit since 2011.

British airways owner IAG climbed two percent in London after it unveiled a big order for Boeing and Airbus jets and expressed optimism for air travel demand.

- Key figures at around 1030 GMT -

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.6 percent at 23,499.44 points

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,577.06

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 7,753.91

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.6 percent at 37,503.33 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 22,867.74 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,342.00 (close)

New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 41,368.45 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1246 from $1.1230 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3272 from $1.3249

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 145.33 yen from 145.82 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.70 pence from 84.73 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.8 percent at $63.97 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.9 percent at $61.07 per barrel

F.Kang--SG