European Shares Steady as Trade Talks Wind Up

(Bloomberg) -- European shares jumped, set for the best weekly gain in three months, as cyclical stocks led the rebound and investors embraced the progress in U.S.-China talks.

The Stoxx 600 Index rose as much as 1.4 percent, with miners and automakers leading the advance after they fell on Thursday. European Central Bank executive board member Benoit Coeure said a fresh round of longer-term loans to lenders is possible, sending the Euro Stoxx Banks index up as much as 3.1 percent.

China’s President Xi Jinping said U.S.-China trade talks will continue next week in Washington and that negotiations between both sides have achieved important progress.

“The uncertainty on trade remains although there is still margin for an agreement and the market moves in the short term on each headline that comes out of the talks,” said Ruben de la Torre, senior portfolio manager at Andbank Wealth Management. “But the overall positive tone of markets in this start of the year remains.”

Allianz SE was one of the biggest gainers after the insurer raised its dividend, exceeding analyst estimates. The Stoxx 600 Index is set to gain 2.9 percent this week, which would be the most since early November.

To contact the reporters on this story: Macarena Munoz in Madrid at mmunoz39@bloomberg.net;Ksenia Galouchko in London at kgalouchko1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Beth Mellor at bmellor@bloomberg.net, Jon Menon

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