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European shares marched higher on Thursday as oil prices stabilised and mining stocks rallied on hopes that China and the United States may reach a rapprochement to end their long-running trade spat, offsetting bad news in the tech sector.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.2 per cent by 0844 GMT, with German, French and Spanish bourses rising more than 0.4 per cent. Britain's FTSE 100 was outperforming its euro zone peers as the pound fell 0.3 per cent.
Sentiment was boosted after China delivered a written response to US demands for wide-ranging trade reforms ahead of an expected meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his counterpart Donald Trump later this month.
Basic materials stocks, some of the main beneficiaries of easing tensions between the world's two largest economies, led the pack with a 1.1 per cent rise, also buoyed by higher copper and industrial metals prices and a weaker US dollar.
British asset manager Intermediate Capital Group jumped 9.4 per cent to the top of the STOXX and London's FTSE midcap index after reporting record net inflows. French conglomerate Bouygues rose 3.4 per cent after delivering better-than-expected nine-month profits.
Autos hit the skids, down 1.4 per cent after the Chinese government doused hopes that Beijing was preparing to cut auto purchases taxes in a bid to shore up demand and boost the world's second-largest economy. Daimler was at the bottom of the DAX, also knocked by a Citi downgrade.
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