Markets rise as trade war uncertainty “lifted for now”

Markets were mostly higher on Friday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent and the STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.2 percent but the Nikkei 225 fell 0.6 percent.

“Upward momentum has started to further improve,” said Ivan Ip, an analyst at UOB Kay Hian.

“The fear that the U.S. and China would engage in a trade war weighed on stocks during the week, but that uncertainty has lifted for now,” said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

However, Lukman Otunuga, a research analyst at brokerage FXTM, cautioned that “stock markets still remain exposed to downside risks, as concerns heighten over escalating trade tensions”.