BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks advanced on Friday as a two-day Group of 20 summit began in Japan's western city of Osaka, with focus on free trade.
U.S. President Trump and Chinese President Xi will meet on the sidelines of the summit amid hopes that they will reach some sort of agreement that would avoid the imposition of additional tariffs on each other's products.
The pan European Stoxx 600 was up 0.2 percent at 382.83 after ending on a flat note the previous day.
The German DAX was moving up 0.4 percent, France's CAC 40 index was rising 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was gaining 0.3 percent.
Deutsche Bank shares rallied 3.7 percent after the lender passed an annual health check by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
On the other hand, Credit Suisse dropped 1 percent after the U.S. central bank found limited weaknesses in its capital planning process.
Merlin Entertainments shares soared as much as 14 percent in London after a consortium led by the family that controls the Lego toymaking empire agreed a £5.9bn takeover of the company.
Mining giant Glencore gained almost 2 percent after Deutsche Bank's investment analysts reaffirmed their 'buy' rating on the stock.
In economic releases, Eurozone consumer prices increased at a steady pace in June, flash data from Eurostat revealed. Inflation came in at 1.2 percent, the same rate as seen in May.
U.K. GDP climbed 0.5 percent sequentially in the first quarter, unrevised from the first estimate, and faster than the 0.2 percent growth registered in the fourth quarter, official data showed.
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