European stocks edge higher as Trump meets with Xi in China

 European stocks edged broadly higher on Thursday, as investors kept tabs on developments out of U.S. President Donald Trump’s ongoing trip to China.

By 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT), the pan-European Stoxx 600 had risen by 0.4%, the Dax in Germany had gained 1.1%, the CAC 40 in France was up 0.6%, and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. was mostly unchanged.

Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have ended their first round of talks during a two-day summit, with Xi telling state media that negotiations around trade in particular were making progress. However, he flagged that pushback from the U.S. over Taiwan could sour relations.

Markets were keen for any update on possible discussions around the Iran war. Some analysts have suggested that Trump may attempt to persuade China, a major importer of Iranian oil, to act as a guarantor on a lasting peace agreement, although it remains uncertain whether Beijing would want to play such a role.

While the leaders and top business executives gather in China, the world’s economy faces a murky outlook due to the continued shuttering of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway off Iran’s southern coast through which roughly a fifth of global oil flows.

Oil prices crept higher. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were last floating above $105 a barrel, compared to a pre-war level of roughly $70 a barrel. This spike has fueled worries over an inflationary surge in countries around the world, a trend underlined by consumer and producer price data out of the U.S. this week.

“Higher energy prices come with softer growth and higher inflation,” analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a note.

Beyond the war, the corporate earnings parade in Europe has marched on. In individual stocks, shares of Burberry dropped after the luxury clothing retailer’s board said it would not declare a dividend and warned of an uncertain macroeconomic environment in its fiscal 2027.

Meanwhile, Allegro lifted its annual outlook for its international unit, sending shares of the Polish e-commerce platform higher.