Today's Edition
London (AFP)
Stock markets mostly rose on Friday as US President Donald Trump suggested that he could lower tariffs on China, raising hopes that weekend talks between the superpowers could lead to a de-escalation in their trade war.
Wall Street opened higher while Frankfurt's DAX index set a new record earlier in the day before Trump signalled that China tariffs could be lowered from 145% to 80%.
Trump's comments came a day after the United States and Britain announced the first agreement since the US President launched his tariffs blitz last month.
Frankfurt's DAX was up 0.8% in afternoon trading, after hitting a fresh high of 23,543.03 points, recouping losses spurred by Trump's April tariffs announcements.
Paris and London also climbed following a mixed showing in Asia.
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.
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%.
Trump told reporters he thought the talks would be "substantive" and when asked if reducing the levies was a possibility, he said "it could be".
Trump later posted that "80% Tariff on China seems right!"
That could see Beijing dial back some of its own 125% tariffs on US goods.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warned that agreements with Japan and South Korea could take longer to reach, and 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.
