Europe open: Markets climb as Chinese calls for 'calm' encourage optimism
Continental markets were up on Thursday morning after comments from China's Commerce Ministry stoked optimism that a trade war with the US may not be allowed to escalate further.
The European indexes had largely begun the day on the back foot but markets turned after assurances from Beijing that China would not seek to escalate of the trade war with the US and was willing to resolve the issue with a "calm" attitude.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.49% at 374.67 as the French CAC 40 climbed by 0.81% and the German Dax index was trading 0.67% higher.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said investors appear to have taken heart from this morning's comments from Beijing.
The FTSE 100 was 0.84% higher at 7,174.19, aided by a weakened pound after the currency tumbled lower against the euro and US dollar on Wednesday following the news that Boris Johnson plans to extend a parliamentary shutdown to 14 October.
In corporate news, IT group Micro Focus plummeted by almost 30% as it warned on profits amid lower customer spending due to Brexit uncertainty and economic concerns.
Recruiter Hays dropped by 3% as it reported a drop in annual profits and highlighted tough conditions in the UK and Germany.
French industrial group Bouygues jumped by 5.4% after reporting better than expected operating profits on the back of strong growth in its telecoms and television divisions.
(Editing by Frank Prenesti)