BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks were trading mixed on Friday as investors pondered over the prospects for U.S.-China trade talks.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other U.S. officials will travel to Beijing next week to continue the negotiations after U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a 90-day tariff truce in December.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was marginally lower at 359.86 in opening deals after losing 1.5 percent the previous day.
The German DAX was losing 0.2 percent, while France's CAC 40 index was marginally higher and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.2 percent.
The pound was heading for its worst weekly decline since October after the Bank of England said it expects growth this year to be the slowest since 2009.
Norwegian engineering company Aker Solutions fell 4.6 percent despite the company ending 2018 on a high note.
Plane maker Airbus rose 0.7 percent despite Qantas's decision to cancel eight of the 20 A380s.
Wirecard, a provider of payment solutions, rallied 5 percent in Frankfurt. Rejecting the media coverage of FT, the company said that nothing about the article published related to alleged compliance breaches is true.
Earthport jumped 14.7 percent in London after Visa Inc sweetened its offer for the payment company.
Oil services firm Petrofac rallied 3.5 percent after a plunge on Thursday as a former Petrofac executive pleaded guilty to eleven counts of bribery in an ongoing investigation.
In economic releases, Germany's exports rebounded at a faster-than-expected pace in December, exceeding expectations, while imports followed suit, figures from the Federal Statistical Office showed.
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