By Investors Hub
European stocks have risen on Friday to extend recent gains as investors veered around to the view that the U.S.-China trade row will be less harmful to global growth than first feared.
Sentiment was also underpinned by expectations that Beijing will increase economic stimulus to boost the economy in the face of the trade war.
While the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index has jumped by 1.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are up by 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
The British pound has retreated after a warning from European Union leaders that Prime Minister Theresa May?s plan to withdraw from the European Union ?will not work.?
Banks and miners led the surge, while British engineering company Smiths Group has tumbled after disruptions at its medical unit hit its annual profit.
Just Eat and Delivery Hero have also moved lower on a Bloomberg report that Uber is in early discussions to buy food delivery upstart Deliveroo for several billion dollars.
In economic releases, the eurozone private sector grew at the second-weakest rate since late-2016 on subdued manufacturing activity growth in September, survey data from IHS Markit showed.
The composite output index fell to 54.2 in September from 54.5 in August. The score was forecast to remain unchanged at 54.5.
French GDP advanced 0.2 percent sequentially in the second quarter, the same rate as seen in the first quarter and in line with the second estimate published on August 2nd, detailed figures from Insee revealed.
U.K. public sector net borrowing, excluding public sector banks, rose by 2.4 billion pounds from last year to 6.8 billion pounds in August, official data showed. This was the largest August borrowing in two years.
Adedapo Adesanya