European shares touched a record high on Friday after EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan struck a positive tone on talks with Washington, soothing some concerns over a possible escalation in trade tensions between the cross-Atlantic allies.
The pan STOXX 600 index rose 0.4 per cent to a record high of 422.51 by 0803 GMT, and was set to mark its best week since late-December.
Hogan said on Thursday that he had a good exchange of views with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington, underscoring Brussels' desire to negotiate solutions for several open trade disputes between the US and the EU.
The trade-sensitive miners’ sub-index was the best performer for the day, as the prospect of better US-EU trade discourse added to optimism following the signing of an interim trade deal between the US and China.