BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European markets ended on a firm note on Monday as trade tensions eased after U.S. President Donald Trump said that he would delay the deadline for additional tariffs on Chinese goods, originally set to begin on March 1.
Trump, who said trade talks are seeing substantial progress, indicated he plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to reach a final deal.
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended up 0.26%. Among the major markets in Europe, the U.K. ended slightly up, with its benchmark FTSE 100 edging up 0.06%. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 gained 0.5% and 0.36%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI ended 0.7% up.
Among other markets in Europe, Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Turkey and Poland ended notably higher.
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Russia ended modestly higher. Austria and Sweden ended week, while Spain finished flat.
British stock Persimmon tumbled about 4.7% on reports the U.K. government has voiced its concerns about the firm's practices.
Pearson also declined more than 5%. Bunzi and Royal Mail ended lower by 3.6% and 3.1%, respectively. Old Mutual, Provident Financial, Prudential, Kingfisher, Intu Properties, Antofagasta, Centrica and InterContinental ended with strong gains.
In the German market, Adidas, Volkswagen, Infineon, Daimler, Thyssenkrupp and Continental gained 2 to 3%.
Valeo, STMicroElectronics, Societe Generale, Michelin, BNP Paribas, Capgemini and Peugeot rallied sharply.
Though most of the markets ended higher, gains were just modest in some as investors were a bit cautious as they looked ahead to the upcoming U.S.-North Korea meet and the developments on the Brexit front.
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