LONDON - Europe’s share markets hit a more than 4-year peak and bond yields shuffled higher on Thursday, as Beijing signaled a ‘phase 1’ trade deal with the United States was close to being sealed.
Cue optimism. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.4% to its highest since July 2015 led by the export-heavy DAX in Frankfurt despite worse-than-expected German industrial output data. Among the top gainers across European sub-sectors were automakers and miners, while defensive plays such as telecoms and utilities fell, which all pointed to higher risk appetite.
Japan’s Nikkei dithered either side of flat in very quiet trade, having touched a 13-month top on Wednesday. South Korean stocks stalled after hitting their highest since May, while Shanghai blue chips eked out a 0.2% rise
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