(RTTNews) - French stocks rose sharply on Thursday amid some easing of trade worries and optimism over the formation of a new government in Italy.
China's Commerce Ministry reportedly said during a weekly briefing that both sides "should create necessary conditions" to continue negotiations and that China was against escalating the trade war.
Elsewhere in Italy, 5-Star Movement and the opposition Democratic Party said they would try to form a coalition and avoid snap elections.
The benchmark CAC 40 was up as much as 60 points, or 1.11 percent, at 5,428 after falling around 0.3 percent on Wednesday.
Bouygues shares jumped 6 percent. The company confirmed its FY19 view after posting a better-than-expected first-half core operating profit.
Dinks company Pernod Ricard rallied 3 percent after it launched a €1bn share buyback.
In economic releases, France's economy grew more than initially estimated in the second quarter, detailed report from Insee showed.
Gross domestic product grew 0.3 percent sequentially, instead of 0.2 percent estimated earlier.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
