European stocks were higher on Wednesday morning, amid renewed optimism the world's two largest economies might be able to resolve their long-running trade dispute, reports CNBC.
The pan-European Stoxx-600 was up around 0.3 percent during mid-morning deals, with most sectors and major bourses in positive territory.
Europe's chemicals stocks led the gains during early morning deals, up almost 1.0 percent amid earnings news.
Paint maker Akzo Nobel was the top sectoral performer, after marginally beating fourth-quarter expectations on Wednesday. Shares of the Amsterdam-listed stock rose 4.0 percent on the news.
Looking at individual stocks, Sweden's Kindred Group surged toward the top of the benchmark after reporting an all-time high in active customers in the fourth-quarter of 2018. Shares of the Stockholm-listed stock rose almost 6 percent Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, ABN Amro tumbled to the bottom of the index. The Dutch bank reported fourth-quarter earnings results way below expectations on Wednesday, as loan impairments jumped. Shares of the company slipped over 7.0 percent.
On the data front, British inflation fell to a two-year low in January, slipping below the Bank of England's target in the process. Official data showed U.K. consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 1.8 percent in January, following a 2.1 percent increase at the end of last year.
Sterling was little changed against the US dollar, trading at $1.2885 at around 10:45 am London time.
Elsewhere, euro zone industrial production was weaker-than-expected in December.
Official estimates published Wednesday showed a drop in the output of capital goods contributed to a 0.9 percent fall month-on-month and a 4.2 percent fall year-on-year.
Market focus is largely attuned to global trade developments, after President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he could be tempted to push back the March 1 deadline for reaching a trade agreement with China if the two sides were close a deal.
Officials in Washington and Beijing had previously said they were hopeful a new round of trade talks, which began at the start of the week, could bring both sides closer to a comprehensive deal.
In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares, excluding Japan, rose 0.5 percent - hitting its highest level since early October.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
