In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.4% higher, banks and basic resources emerging as the best performing sectors with roughly 2.8% in gains while food and beverage stocks dropped 1.9%. Spanish bank shares topped the Stoxx 600, with Caixabank stock rising 6.9% and Banco De Sabadell gaining 7.4%. Commerzbank, RBS and Barclays all added more than 5% to lead the European banking index higher. Atlantia fell 7.9% after Italian tax police revealed the arrests of three officials of the company’s units.

In Currency Markets the pound extended the last week’s dramatic rally on Friday as investors pounced on a media report that Northern Ireland’s largest political party had agreed to accept some European Union rules after Brexit. The British currency has now rallied 4% in just eight days, a significant reversal of fortunes from earlier this month when talk of a no-deal Brexit intensified. On Friday, the pound strengthened more than 1% to as high as $1.2475, its strongest since July 25, before settling at $1.2431 towards the end of the London trading session.

In Commodities Markets oil edged further above $60 a barrel on Friday as hints of progress in the U.S.-China trade dispute outweighed concerns about a slowdown in global economies and demand for crude. The world’s two largest economies are preparing for new talks and have been making conciliatory gestures ahead of the discussions, cheering investors. Benchmark Brent crude was up 10 cents at $60.48 a barrel by 1308 GMT, recovering from an earlier decline to $59.60. U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 40 cents to $55.49.

In US Equity Markets technology majors Apple and Broadcom overturned early gains on Wall Street on Friday, as traders balanced the latest indicators on an uncertain global growth outlook with perceived progress in reducing Sino-U.S. trade tensions. The S&P 500 was flat 3,009.18 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.24%, at 8,174.69. On Friday, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said the country would exempt some U.S. pork and soybeans from additional tariffs on U.S. goods. Tyson Foods Inc the United States’ largest meat processor, rose 3.4%.

In Bond Markets Euro zone bond yields rose to six-week highs on Friday as concern crept into the market that the European Central Bank is reaching the limits of what its policy can achieve, a day after the bank pledged indefinite stimulus to boost a weak economy. Germany’s 10-year yield rose as high as -0.48% and was set for its biggest weekly jump since early-2018. Thirty-year German yields were back in positive territory, trading 7 bps higher on the day at 0.06%