EUROPE MARKETS: European Indexes Positive Amid Renewed Trade Deal Hopes; WPP Gains 8%

By Emily Horton

Europe's markets were in positive territory on Friday, following renewed hopes of a trade deal between the U.S. and China and the latest manufacturing figures from the latter.

The German jobs markets also remained strong in February.

How are markets performing?

The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.6% to 375.17 on Friday after finishing February up 4% for the month.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 added a similar amount on the first day of March, rising by 0.6% to 7,119.90 after finishing the previous month up 1.5%.

Germany's DAX (DAX) was the region's top gainer, rising by 1.1% to 11,644.57, with France's CAC 40 and Italy's FTSE MIB index following close behind, both adding 0.7% to 5,29.96 and 20,799.66, respectively.

Spain's IBEX 35 rose by just under 0.7% to 9,339.10.

The British pound retracted slightly, after a week of highs, to $1.3236 from $1.3261 late in New York on Thursday. The euro dipped to $1.1362 from $1.1372.

What's driving the markets?

Bloomberg has reported (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-china-preparing-final-trade-deal-that-could-be-signed-within-weeks-report-2019-02-28) that U.S. officials are planning a final trade deal with China ahead of the summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the coming weeks.

The latest Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers index -- a private gauge of factory activity in China -- meanwhile, has come in well ahead of forecasts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-factory-activity-rises-says-private-gauge-2019-02-28), adding to investor optimism.

Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at ThinkMarkets, said in a note to clients: "A lot of this is due to the continuing optimism about the trade war negotiations between the U.S. and China. The deal could be around the corner, both parties are in the final steps of completing them; in fact, they are exploring the dates for the joint summit. This really shows that some tremendous progress has been made."

In Germany, new data shows the labor market retained its strength (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-jobless-claims-fall-faster-than-expected-2019-03-01)in February; the number of jobless claims declined at a faster pace than in January and by more than analysts expected.

In the U.K. Britain's pro-Brexit politicians will reportedly back Theresa May's EU withdrawal deal in return for her quick departure as Prime Minister (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/brexit-brief-theresa-may-could-secure-deal-in-return-for-early-exit-as-pm-2019-03-01), according to The Sun.

What stocks are active?

Advertising giant WPP PLC (WPP.LN) rallied 8% on Friday, with the group's results and outlook "broadly in line" with expectations, according to Barclays analysts Julien Roch and Emily Johnson. But WPP has predicted a challenging year ahead after a tough 2018 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wpp-forecasts-challenging-2019-after-tough-year-2019-03-01).

Meanwhile, French luxury goods titan LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (LVMUY) added 2%.

Among the Stoxx 600 biggest losers was Rightmove PLC(RMV.LN), which dropped by 6% after the property website reported is slowest profit growth in nine years, Reuters reported (https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rightmove-results/rightmove-shares-fall-on-slowing-full-year-profit-growth-idUKKCN1QI419).

Man Group PLC (EMG.LN) lost 4% after the hedge-fund manger said that (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/man-group-says-lower-performance-fees-hits-profit-2019-03-01)lower performance fees knocked its profit in 201 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/man-group-says-lower-performance-fees-hits-profit-2019-03-01)8 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/man-group-says-lower-performance-fees-hits-profit-2019-03-01).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 01, 2019 05:16 ET (10:16 GMT)

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