Equities rose in Europe and rallied in Asia as hopes of a thaw in US-China relations boosted investor sentiment despite worries about central banks withdrawing their crisis-era support for financial markets.
The Stoxx Europe 600 share index gained 0.2 per cent in early trades while London’s FTSE 100 added 0.4 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.9 per cent, although it has still lost almost 10 per cent this quarter, weighed down by a regulatory clampdown on private businesses by the Chinese government.
US president Joe Biden held a “broad strategic discussion” with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday, the White House said. Biden has yet to meet Xi and has so far maintained a hard stance on China, criticising Beijing for cracking down on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and undertaking military manoeuvres near Taiwan.