Europe Stocks, Yuan, Aussie Dollar, US Futures Surge As Global Trade Relations Ease

Stocks in the European Union surged in early trade on Friday as the EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan gave positive reviews of his meetings with the United States counterpart Robert Ligthizer and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. The U.S. futures too extended gains.

What Happened

"These meetings were in the main both positive and productive," Hogan said in his speech in Washington D.C. on Thursday, while calling for finding solutions to the trade tensions between the block and the U.S. through bilateral meetings.

"We must call out the narrative that the US has a trade deficit or an unfair trading relationship with Europe," Hogan said.

"In reality, the relationship is both balanced and highly mutually beneficial. This cannot be stated enough – the facts are clear."

Hogan's visit comes at a time when the U.S. and China have signed the long-awaited phase one of their trade agreement, airing out some uncertainties over what direction the relations between the two largest economies in the world would take.

Meanwhile, the Chinese yuan and Australian dollar gained against the U.S. dollar, as the way forward looks positive for the Chinese economy, as it bottomed out in the fourth quarter of 2019, Reuters noted.

EU Stocks

This is how markets in the E.U. traded at press time.

France's CAC 40 index was up 0.77% at 6,085.70. Germany's DAX Performance Index traded 0.68% higher at 13,520.22.

The Netherlands' AEX index was up 0.46% at 614.89. The United Kingdom's FTSE 100 added 0.55% at 7,651.82.

Eurozone's overall STOXX 50 index added 0.72% at 3,801.45.

US Futures

Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.28% at 9,159.25. Dow Jones futures added 0.25% at 29,312. S&P 500 futures traded 0.2% higher at 3,323.25.

Currencies

The yuan gained 0.33% against the dollar at 6.8572. The Australian dollar gained 0.1% at 1.4483.

Euro traded slightly lower against the dollar at 0.8985.