By Avantika Chilkoti 

Global stocks rose Thursday after China said its top trade negotiator would travel to the U.S. next week to sign a phase-one trade accord, assuaging concerns about the continuing trade tensions.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.3%. The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.6%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed for the day up 1.7%.

China's Vice Premier Liu He will lead a 10-person delegation to Washington from Monday to Wednesday, a Commerce Ministry spokesman said Thursday in the first official confirmation by Beijing on the signing of the crucial agreement.

The world's two largest economies said Dec. 13 that they had reached a first-stage deal, under which China would greatly increase its purchases of U.S. farm goods and other products. In exchange, the Trump administration canceled new tariffs and agreed to pare back some existing levies.

Investors also took comfort in continuing signs that the U.S. and Iran seem to be backing away from a near-term conflict, after President Trump signaled that no new U.S. military strikes would follow an Iranian missile barrage on Iraqi bases housing American and allied military forces.

Among European equities, Air France-KLM was among the biggest gainers, with the shares rallying almost 4% after the airline said passenger activity gained 0.8% in December and 2.7% for the whole year.

Later in the day, investors will be able to gauge commentary from several central bank leaders including members of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy-making committee.

Write to Avantika Chilkoti at Avantika.Chilkoti@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 09, 2020 05:35 ET (10:35 GMT)

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