European stocks close higher after US-China trade deal

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - European stock markets ended Monday with gains as the US and China announced a trade deal that slashed mutual tariffs by 115% and granted a 90-day pause, lowering uncertainty and tensions in global trade.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 1.21%, or 6.53 points to close at 544.49.

Germany's DAX 40 index was up 0.29% to 23,566.54 points, and the UK's FTSE 100 climbed 0.59% to 8,604.98.

France's CAC 40 rose 1.37% to close at 7,850.1 points, while Italy's FTSE MIB 30 index gained 1.4% to 39,921.61.

Delegations from the world's top two economies met in Geneva over the weekend, agreeing to a sweeping rollback of punitive tariffs for an initial 90-day period, and signaling a rare moment of relief in their protracted trade conflict and raising hopes for longer-term economic stability.

They said in a joint statement on Monday that they had agreed to a broad rollback of punitive tariffs for an initial 90 days.

The US will cut its tariffs on Chinese products from 145% to 30%, while China's will be reduced from 125% to 10% by May 14.

Last week, US President Donald Trump also announced a trade agreement with the UK in which Washington agreed to reduce import taxes on a set number of British vehicles and allow some steel and aluminum into the country tariff-free.