European Stocks Slightly Higher as US-China Talks End Well

By Investors Hub

European stocks were flat to slightly higher on Friday after U.S.-China trade talks ended without a breakthrough, as widely expected.

Investors are looking ahead to U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s big Jackson Hole speech later today for Fed views on Turkey’s currency crisis and the U.S.-Chinese trade spat.

While the French CAC 40 Index has risen by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 0.1 percent.

In economic news, fresh data from Destatis showed the German economy expanded at a faster pace as initially estimated in the second quarter on domestic demand.

The largest euro area economy grew 0.5 percent sequentially following the 0.4 percent increase in the first quarter. The rate came in line with the estimate released on August 14th.

Shire plc shares have jumped. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a first of its kind drug from the company used to treat patients suffering from a rare swelling disorder.

Oilfield services provider Petrofac has also risen after it announced an agreement to sell Petrofac GSA Holdings to Ithaca Energy (UK) Limited for a total consideration of up to $292 million.

Irish building materials group Kingspan has soared after its first half sales rose 15 percent to top 2 billion euros for the first time.

Meanwhile, Swiss semiconductor maker U-Blox has slumped after cutting its full-year revenue, EBITDA and EBIT guidance.