Technology and luxury shares higher

On Friday global shares gained ground and the dollar was lower as news of a call between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden offered some respite to traders who were cautious on central bank steps towards ending stimulus.

On Thursday The U.S. and the Chinese presidents spoke for 90 minutes in their first talks in seven months, discussing the need to avoid letting competition between the world’s two largest economies turn into conflict.

European stocks rose, lifted by technology and luxury shares, while investors weighed risks from tighter monetary policies after the European Central Bank signaled a slowdown of its pandemic-era bond purchases.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 0.2%, but was still moving to end the week 0.7% lower among persevering concerns of a slowing global economic recovery.

News of a call between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden offered some relief to Asian stocks, particularly tech companies that have come under heightened regulatory examination in Beijing.

Tech stocks in Europe gained 0.8%, while luxury stocks rose as France’s LVMH gained 1.7% after HSBC recommended buying the stock. China-exposed miners were also among the top sectoral performers, while telecoms lost the most.

European stocks stabilised after the ECB stressed it wasn’t about to end the help despite forecasting higher growth and inflation for the euro zone.

European shares have lingered below their mid-August record highs on the back of strong earnings and recovery prospects, but major money houses are doubtful of further gains, particularly in U.S. stock markets that is home to high-growth companies.

Data earlier showed Britain’s economy unexpectedly slowed to a crawl in July as the Delta variant of COVID-19 spread rapidly.

BioNTech gained 3.9% after two executives at the German biotech firm told Der Spiegel that the company is set to request approval across the globe for use of its COVID-19 vaccine in children as young as five.