BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks are likely to open on a cautious note Monday, although positive U.S. data and renewed optimism about an interim U.S.-Chinese trade deal are likely to underpin investor sentiment.
Asian markets are trading mixed despite U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday saying the United States and China would 'very shortly' sign their so-called Phase One trade pact.
The dollar held firm at the start of a holiday-thinned week after U.S. data released on Friday pointed to solid economic growth in the world's largest economy.
The British pound edged up slightly after hitting a 2-1/2-week low on Friday.
Gold edged higher while oil prices fell after Kuwait signaled a deal with Saudi Arabia to renew crude output along their border and data from Baker Hughes showed a sharp increase in rig count in the U.S.
U.S. stocks hit fresh record closing highs on Friday as encouraging consumer spending and revised GDP data helped put a damper on recession fears and President Trump claimed progress on issues from trade to North Korea and Hong Kong.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 added half a percent.
European markets came close to a record high on Friday in the wake of deescalating trade tensions and the passing of Boris Johnson's Brexit deal in the U.K. Parliament.
The pan European Stoxx 600 advanced 0.8 percent. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 index both climbed around 0.8 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 inched up 0.1 percent.
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