Stocks rise on tariff optimism, London hits record high - Markets & Companies
London's FTSE 100 index jumped one percent in morning trading, lifted also by a surge in mining stocks after US President Donald Trump said he would enact a 50-percent copper tariff on August 1.
The dollar fell versus main rivals and oil prices slid.
Bitcoin steadied after topping $112,000 for the first time on Wednesday.
Paris and Frankfurt stock markets advanced, tracking gains in Asia and after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit all-time highs Wednesday in New York.
"European markets in general continue to shrug off Donald Trump's daily tariff updates, perhaps seeing them as noise and not facts," said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.
"Trump is throwing out numbers left, right and centre, and investors have begun to dismiss anything that isn't set in stone," he added.
Negotiators from around the world have been trying to reach agreements with Washington since Trump in April unveiled his "Liberation Day" tariff bombshell, with a July 9 deadline pushed back to August 1.
"Indications that the EU is edging closer to a deal with the US, with an agreement thought to be possible in a few days, has added to the positive vibes," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
The EU expects Trump to keep a 10-percent baseline tariff on EU goods with exemptions for critical sectors like airplanes, spirits and cosmetics.
Letters have been sent in recent days to more than 20 trading partners -- including Japan and South Korea -- setting out new tolls, with some higher and some lower than the initial levels.
Thursday's stock market rallies followed a healthy lead from Wall Street, thanks to a surge in US chip titan Nvidia that pushed the firm to a record $4 trillion valuation at one point.
There was little global reaction to news that Trump had hit Brazil with a 50 percent tariff as he blasted the trial of the country's ex-president Jair Bolsonaro.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he will impose reciprocal levies on the United States.
Brazil had not been among those threatened with higher duties, with the United States running a goods trade surplus with the South American giant.
Traders were given few guides on the US Federal Reserve's interest rate plans after minutes from its June policy meeting showed officials divided on the best way forward.
While the board sees the president's tariffs as inflationary, the minutes said there remained "considerable uncertainty" on the timing, size and duration of the effects.
Key figures at around 1030 GMT
London: FTSE 100: UP 1.0 percent at 8,956.73 points
Paris: CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 7,930.37
Frankfurt: DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 24,584.82
Tokyo: Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 39,646.36 (close)
Hong Kong: Hang Seng Index: UP 0.6 percent at 24,028.37 (close)
Shanghai: Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,509.68 (close)
New York: Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 44,458.30 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1733 from $1.1719 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3606 from $1.3590
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.17 yen from 146.30 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 86.24 pence from 86.21 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $69.92 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $68.03 per barrel
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Al-Ahram Weekly
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