Europe open: Shares rise on strong Wall St as eyes turn to US-China talks

(Sharecast News) - European shares opened higher on Tuesday amid a flurry of corporate earnings and gains on Wall Street overnight as traders turned their attention to US-China trade talks. The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 0.35% in early deals, with Germany's DAX rising 0.73% and France's CAC 40 gaining 0.53%.

US Treasury chief Scott Bessent arrived yesterday in Sweden with China's vice-premier He Lifeng, according to reports, for further trade talks.

In the US, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox News that a delay to a higher tariff deadline was probable.

Trump caused market chaos earlier this year after slapping China with 145% duties, but then announced a 90-day pause, lowering tariffs to 30%. The current deadline for a deal is August 12.

"US markets are on a heater, and while the S&P 500's modest 0.02% gain wouldn't normally turn heads, last night's close was its sixth consecutive record high," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Matt Britzman.

"Investors took the EU's expected 15% tariff move in stride, the latest indicator that this Trump administration is getting some big deals done, and any tariff war risk built into stock valuations has all but disappeared."

"Focus now shifts to China trade talks and a jam-packed week ahead, with a quarter of the S&P 500 index reporting earnings, a critical Fed decision, and no shortage of data poised to test the market's nerve."

In equity news, shares in Philips surged nearly 14% after the Dutch consumer healthcare group raised its full-year margin outlook and said the impact of US tariffs would not be as bad as first feared.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com