Global markets rose on Friday after a trade deal between the U.S. and Britain announced Thursday kicked off guarded optimism for progress in tariff negotiations with other countries.

The Dow was slightly in the red, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were in the green.

TSX futures were also in the green.

In Canada, investors are getting results from Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.; Docebo Inc.; Enbridge Inc.; Lassonde Industries Inc.; NuVista Energy Ltd.; Onex Corp.; Orla Mining Ltd.; and Telus Corp.

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Recruit Holdings Co. Ltd. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.

The U.S. dollar headed for a weekly gain on most major currencies on Friday, amid investor optimism over coming U.S.-China talks. China-based shipping agents have resumed buying container space for goods headed for the United States after a series of U.S. tariff-induced cancellations, as Beijing and Washington head for trade talks in Switzerland.

“The deal between the U.S. and U.K. was more style over substance,” said Kyle Rodda, a senior financial markets analyst at Capital.com.

“However, it feeds the narrative that the U.S. is looking to bang out rapid-fire trade deals and reduce tariffs - at the margins - and other trade barriers,” Rodda said.

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.37 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.36 per cent, Germany’s DAX was up 0.42 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.66 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.56 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.69 per cent.

Brent crude firmed by 83 US cents, or 1.3 per cent, to US$63.27 a barrel by 0905 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 85 US cents, or 1.4 per cent, at US$60.76. On the week, both contracts were up about 4 per cent.

Hopes that the trade war between the U.S. and China is cooling had helped Brent futures to jump by 3 per cent on Thursday, said PVM analyst John Evans.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet China’s top economic official Vice Premier He Lifeng in Switzerland on Saturday to work towards resolving trade disputes that have threatened oil demand.

“If the two set a date to start formal trade negotiations and agree to ratchet down their current steep tariffs against each other while talks carry on, markets will get a breather and crude could stack on another $2 to $3 per barrel,” said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights.

In other commodities, spot gold was up 0.7 per cent to US$3,326.99 an ounce at 0847 GMT.

The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart.

The day range on the loonie was 71.71 US cents to 71.89 US cents in early trading. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.39 per cent against the greenback over the past month.

The U.S. dollar index, which weighs the greenback against a group of currencies, fell 0.24 per cent to 100.40.

The euro gained 0.17 per cent to US$1.1247. The British pound gained 0.17 per cent to US$1.3267.

In bonds, the yield on the U.S. 10-year note was last up at 4.382 per cent ahead of the North American opening bell.

Onex Corp. ONEX-T is selling a 25-per-cent stake in WestJet Airlines to two of the world’s largest carriers for US$550-million, cashing in on an investment made just before the COVID-19 pandemic wrought havoc in the aviation industry.

In a deal that positions WestJet for further international expansion, Toronto-based asset manager Onex will sell a 15-per-cent stake in WestJet to Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL-N for US$330-million and a 10-per-cent holding to Korean Air Lines Co. for US$220-million.

Economic news

China’s aggregate yuan financing, new yuan loans and current account surplus

Japan real cash earnings and household spending

Canadian employment for April announced at 8:30 ET. The Street expects a month-over-month increase of 0.1 per cent, or 25,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate remaining 6.7 per cent and average hourly wages up 3.8 per cent year-over-year.

With Reuters and The Canadian Press