* MSCI world equity index up 0.5%
* Wall Street futures up 1%
* Pound pinballs on Tusk Brexit comments
* U.S.-China negotiations "very, very good" - Trump
* Oil soars after explosion on Iranian oil tanker
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
(Updates prices throughout, adds details of sterling)
By Tom Wilson
LONDON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - World shares on Friday basked in
optimism over signs of a detente in the U.S.-China trade war and
hopes that Britain was moving closer to a smooth exit from the
European Union.
The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS , which tracks
shares in 47 countries, gained 0.5% to head towards its first
weekly rise in four weeks. European shares led the charge, with
the broad Euro STOXX 600 .STOXX jumping 1.1% and heading
towards its strongest day since late August.
Frankfurt's main index .GDAXI , seen as sensitive to the
trade war because of its export-oriented stocks, jumped 1.7% and
was on course for its biggest daily gain since June.
A rally in Asian shares had earlier set the positive tone,
with an index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS climbing 1.4%. And the positive mood was set to
spread to Wall Street, too, where futures gauges EScv1 NQcv1
added about 1%.
The improvement in hunger for riskier bets came after U.S.
President Donald Trump on Thursday called the first day of trade
talks with China in over two months "very, very good."
The talks between U.S. and Chinese negotiators fed hopes
that the two sides could dial down the 15-month trade war that
has upset financial markets and supply chains across the world,
and delay a U.S. tariff hike scheduled for next week.
Trump reiterated plans to meet China's Vice Premier Liu He
on Friday at the White House.
Expectations of progress on Thursday had pushed up U.S.
markets, with Wall Street .DJI .SPX gaining around 0.6%.
Yet investors said markets were hoping for, at best, a deal
limited in scope, and they noted that sunny rhetoric had in the
past failed to translate into more meaningful moves.
"I would caution that we have been here before, where we
have seen positive talk," said Mike Bell, global market
strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
"It's possible they will be able to do a smaller deal around
tariffs, where there is some room for movement."
Hopes of progress in the trade war buoyed riskier currencies
and pinned down the dollar. The Chinese yuan CNY= traded at
7.0932 per dollar, its strongest since Sept. 23.
Against a basket of currencies the greenback was a touch
softer at 98.655 .DXY.
POUND PINBALLS
Signs of progress in Brexit, the other long-running
geopolitical saga stressing out the markets, also emboldened
investors.
After meeting British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for
talks, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Thursday that a
deal to let Britain leave the European Union in an orderly
fashion could be sealed by the end of the month. Varadkar called the talks "constructive," while the two
leaders said in a joint statement that they could "see a pathway
to a possible deal". Sterling jumped 2%.
But it remained unclear what the pair agreed on, and
skittishness over what comes next for Brexit reigned among
currency traders on Friday.
The British pound GBP=D3 pinballed, slumping nearly a cent
in a matter of minutes after top EU official Donald Tusk said
"time is practically up" for Britain to reach a Brexit deal,
before recovering much of its lost ground as Tusk's remarks
continued. It was last up 1.1% at $1.2437, after its biggest two-day
jump since June 2016. It also jumped 2.5% versus the euro
EURGBP=D3 .
Still, with Britain due to leave the world's biggest trading
bloc on Oct. 31, market players reiterated that the fate of
Brexit is still in the balance.
"We are moving to a glimmer of hope, rather than strong
expectation that things will get done," Tim Drayson, head of
economics at Legal & General Investment Management.
Yet Drayson said that any deal struck between Dublin and
London would then face the hurdle of the British parliament,
even after securing agreement from the European Union.
"I think the odds are that we don't reach an agreement, but
I'm not expecting a crash out on October 31."
Irish government bonds rallied, outperforming their euro
zone peers, after Varadkar's comments. Stocks in Dublin .ISEQ
jumped 3%, to hit their highest in 3-1/2 months.
"We still think that markets are probably underpricing the
likelihood of a hard Brexit scenario," said Salman Baig, a
cross-asset investment manager at Unigestion.
In commodities, oil prices rose after Iranian news agencies
said a state-owned oil tanker had been hit by missiles in the
Red Sea near Saudi Arabia, raising the prospect of supply
disruptions from a crucial producing region. Global benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 was up around 1.5% at
$60.01 per barrel.
For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock
markets, please click on: LIVE/
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