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By Dave Morris

European investors halted two days of decline with an outburst of bullishness as U.S.-China trade tensions gave mixed signals.

How did markets perform?

The Stoxx 600 climbed to 379.2, a gain of 0.9% after Thursday's fall of 1.7%.

Germany's DAX (DAX) index was the standout regional performer, jumping 1.1% higher to 12,096.1. It had swooned 1.7% in the previous session Thursday.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.7% to 7,257.6, following a decline of 0.9% Thursday.

The pound edged up 0.1% to $1.3009 building on Thursday's rise of 0.2%.

France's CAC 40 rose 1% to 5,362.7. On Thursday it sank 1.9%.

Italy's FTSE MIB moved up 0.9% to 21,005.2, after falling 1.8% Thursday.

What's moving the markets?

Despite clearly negative developments in the U.S.-China trade story lording over the headlines, European stocks were significantly higher Friday morning and it was difficult to find a simple explanation.

Economic data from Germany seemed to be one signal investors seized on. Exports for March smashed expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-exports-climb-in-march-2019-05-10), coming in at 1.5% month over month versus an expected drop of 0.2%. The figure seemed to allay concerns about weakness in German manufacturing, particularly in products they export to the Chinese market. In the U.K., first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.5% over the previous quarter, slightly above the consensus of 0.45%. The Office of National Statistics attributed the increase to manufacturers stockpiling ahead of the U.K.'s expected exit from the European Union.

The major developments in the trade deal standoff between the U.S. and China (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-china-to-continue-trade-talks-friday-despite-tensions-2019-05-09)began with reports that there had been no breakthrough in the talks in Washington, D.C., meaning that U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to raise tariffs became policy. The silver lining for investors was that Trump said negotiations were not yet dead, and described the "beautiful letter" he received from Chinese leader Xi Jinping urging the two countries to work together to find a solution.

Which stocks are active?

Financials were broadly responsible for lifting the Stoxx Europe 600, in terms of their market cap-based weighting. Insurer Prudential PLC (PRU.LN) rose 1.7%, and both Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.LN) and France's BNP Paribas SA (BNP.FR) climbed 1.2%.

British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG.LN) reported first quarter earnings in line with management's predictions and asserted that it expected to make more revenue per passenger in 2019. Statutory pretax profits came in at EUR86 million versus EUR885 million because of increased fuel costs, even when stripping out currency effects. Shares were up 2.6%.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst for Markets.com, said the IAG story was similar to other airlines facing challenges: "Lots of competition means no one has the pricing power, whilst labor costs are a factor, but the biggest headwind right now is fuel costs, which were up 15.8%. Nonfuel costs were 0.8% higher."

Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (RR.LN) whose shares were hit when its Trent 1000 engine came under scrutiny over deterioration of its blades, got a boost from IAG's results. IAG CEO William Walsh said on the earnings call that he was "a bit more confident" that Rolls-Royce was getting the problem under control. Rolls-Royce shares increased 1.1%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 10, 2019 05:30 ET (09:30 GMT)

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