Global stocks at highest since start of December
The Dow and Nasdaq are in an eighth consecutive weekly gain on bets the US and China will hammer out a trade deal
London — Hopes of progress in China-US trade talks and expectations of policy stimulus from central banks lifted world stocks to two-and-a-half-month highs on Monday, though European gains were dampened by concerns over the car sector's outlook. MSCI's all-country world index rose 0.3% after Japan's Nikkei closed up 1.8% at its highest level of 2019 and MSCI's index of Asian equities rose almost 1%. Shanghai blue chips surged 2.7% to their highest finish in more than six months. Trade negotiations between the US and China will resume this week, with US President Donald Trump saying he may extend a March 1 deadline for a deal. Both sides reported progress at last week's talks in Beijing. But the mood was more subdued in Europe, where a pan-European equity index inched to new four-month high but gains were capped by the vehicle sector, which was hit by data showing Chinese car sales fell 16% in January, their seventh straight month of decline. The vehicles index, a bellwether for Euro...
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