Europe open: Shares rally on hopes of easing in trade war tensions

(Sharecast News) - European shares rallied at the open on Friday as China signalled a potential de-escalation of its trade war with the US. The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 0.4% in early deals to 520 points. Germany's DAX rose 0.5% and France's CAC-40 surged 0.7%.

Investors were cheered by reports that China was considering suspending its 125% tariff on some US imports.

"Yesterday allowed global risk investors to take a deeper breath. Dovish comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) members, and de-escalation of trade tensions between the US and China allowed a further recovery in global equities," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.

On the economics front UK retail sales grew faster than expected last month, up 0.4%, the Office for National Statistics reports, against expectations of a 0.4% fall.

Clothing and outdoor retailers reported that good weather boosted sales, although that was partly offset by falls in supermarket sales.

In equity news, shares in Kemira slumped after the Finnish chemicals specialist posted first-quarter earnings.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com