European stocks boosted by trade talk optimism

The FTSE 100 closed at a new record on Wednesday, following news of the US and Japan’s trade deal which also boded well for Japanese and European car manufacturers.

The FTSE 100 index closed up 37.68 points, 0.4%, at 9,061.49, a record closing peak. It had earlier hit a new all-time high of 9,080.09.

The FTSE 250 closed up 79.23 points, 0.4%, at 22,013.49 and the AIM All-Share closed up 3.85 points, 0.5%, at 773.99.

The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.5% at 904.40, the Cboe UK 250 rose 0.4% to 19,332.94, while the Cboe Small Companies closed down slightly at 17,683.08.

In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris advanced 1.5%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt gained 0.8%.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4%, the S&P 500 traded 0.3% higher and the Nasdaq Composite firmed 0.2%.

Late Tuesday, President Donald Trump said that the US has agreed on a ‘massive’ trade deal with Japan that would include a 15% tariff on its exports.

Trump had previously threatened Japan, a major US trading partner, with a tariff of 25% beginning August 1 if a deal was not reached.

‘We just completed a massive Deal with Japan, perhaps the largest Deal ever made,’ Trump announced on his Truth Social platform.

Under the deal, ‘Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the US, which will receive 90% of the Profits,’ Trump wrote.

Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was more circumspect, stating that he needed to examine the deal before commenting.