Europe ends in positive territory as investors shrug concerns over global trade

Equities in Europe followed the positive sentiment globally, with Asian markets in the black on the back of sharp gains from Wall Street. The Dow notched its first record high since January on Thursday while the S&P 500 reached an alltime high of its own, the first since August. On the final day of the week, most of Wall Street built upon the gains seen in the previous session in early trading.

The European markets ended Friday's session in positive territory, adding to their recent gains. Investors continue to shrug off concerns over global trade ahead of the new tariffs that will go into effect between the U.S. and China next week.

Energy stocks benefitted from the rise in crude oil prices at the end of the week and bank stocks added to their recent strength.

European stocks posted solid gains by the end of Friday's session, as investors continued to digest the latest political and corporate news. The pan-European Stoxx 600 popped 0.43 percent by the provisional close, with almost all sectors closing in the black. On the week, however, the STOXX 600 soared 1.70 percent.

Eurozone private sector grew at the secondweakest pace since late-2016 as manufacturing growth was subdued by stagnating export orders, flash survey data from IHS Markit showed Friday. The composite output index fell to 54.2 in September, while the score was forecast to remain unchanged at 54.5.

On the continent, Brexit continues to remain under the lenses of traders, after European leaders upped the pressure on British Prime Minister Theresa May at an informal summit in Salzburg, Austria. European Council President Donald Tusk said the U.K. leader's plan to withdraw from the European Union "will not work."

Following on from the meeting, the British leader said Friday that the U.K. and EU were at an "impasse" in Brexit discussions. May said she wouldn't overturn the result of the referendum that took place in June 2016.