European Equities Attempt Rebound As Trade War Festers

European stock markets staged a fightback Tuesday, rebounding from losses that had been sparked by the raging US-China trade war

London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th May, 2019 ) :European stock markets staged a fightback Tuesday, rebounding from losses that had been sparked by the raging US-China trade war.

World oil prices bobbed higher on concerns about geopolitical tensions in the crude-rich middle East, dealers said.

London stocks gained 0.9 percent in late morning deals. while Frankfurt won 0.5 percent and Paris rallied 1.1 percent in early afternoon trade.

"Equities are attempting to claw back some lost ground, with UK shares doing particularly well compared to Europe, but the overall atmosphere of caution still prevails," noted analyst Chris Beauchamp at trading firm IG.

Asian markets however sank further following hefty losses on Wall Street, following China's hike in tariffs on $60 billion of US imports.

That has ramped up sizzling tensions in a trade war between the world's two biggest economic powers.

The latest move by Beijing was followed by a warning of further action such as dumping US Treasuries and came days after Washington more than doubled levies on $200 billion of Chinese goods and US President Donald Trump said he was looking at more than $300 billion more.

"Asian markets remained under pressure, and while US futures are looking more positive the escalating trade war is still driving bearish sentiment," added Beauchamp.

"Ironically of course the tariffs imposed by both sides will hit consumers, so as in all great contests this is turning into a test of endurance, with the US and China each looking to derive the maximum impact from the increased charges in a bid to hit their opponent where it hurts.

" - Risk of volatility - After announcing the higher tariffs, the editor of Communist Party-owned Chinese newspaper Global Times warned Beijing could also hit the US by offloading Treasuries, ending US agricultural purchases and reducing orders for Boeing airplanes.

However, while there is a lot of fear about an all-out trade war, which could batter the world economy, both said talks will continue, though no date has been set for the next round.

Also, Trump said he had a feeling talks with China will be "very successful" and that he intended to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at next month's G20 summit.

- Key figures around 1050 GMT - London - FTSE 100: UP 0.9 percent at 7,226.25 points Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.5 percent at 11,934.22 Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.1 percent at 5,320.15 EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.8 percent at 3,347.88 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6 percent at 21,067.23 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 1.5 percent at 28,122.02 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 2,883.61 (close) New York - Dow: DOWN 2.4 percent at 25,324.99 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1228 from $1.1222 at 2100 GMT Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2955 from $1.2958 Dollar/yen: UP at 109.67 Yen from 109.30 yenOil - Brent Crude: UP 64 cents at $70.87 per barrelOil - West Texas Intermediate: UP 20 cents at $61.23 per barrel