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Tensions between the United States and China remain high despite a recent round of trade talks that both sides described as positive. Chinese trade envoy Li Chenggang said discussions with US counterpart Jamieson Greer during the APEC ministerial meeting in Jeju were “good” and “definitely” constructive, but offered no further details or clarity on future meetings.

Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods are expected to remain in place at levels likely to significantly restrict Chinese exports to the United States, even after the current 90-day truce, according to analysts and investors.

A Bloomberg survey of 22 respondents—including fund managers, banks, and research firms across Asia, Europe and the US—indicates that US tariffs are likely to stay at 30% through to late 2025. Although this rate is lower than before the recent easing in tensions, Bloomberg Economics estimates it is still high enough to eliminate around 70% of Chinese exports to the US over the medium term.

“For now, we believe that the path of least resistance is still higher for risky assets,” said Mohit Kumar, chief economist and strategist at Jefferies International. “We would start turning a bit more cautious around June/July when we expect the hard data start weakening.”

Positioning is also reflecting the risk-on mood, with US equity funds having their first inflows in five weeks at $19.8 billion, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists led by Michael Hartnett. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said he expects the US economy to slow this year but not fall into recession.

European stocks were set to wrap up a fifth straight week of gains as cooling trade tensions globally boosted investor sentiment, while the corporate earnings season has turned out better than expected.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.7% at 11:10 a.m. in London, bringing its weekly advance to about 2.3% and marking its longest winning streak since February. Consumer products stocks outperformed, with Richemont SA jumping 6.8% as it posted a rise in full-year sales on the continued popularity of its Cartier brand.

Health care as well as food and beverage sectors also advanced, while miners and construction stocks were the biggest laggards.

Microsoft offered to unbundle its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 software suites from its Teams workplace communication app to address competition concerns from European regulators.

The European Commission, which is the executive arm of the European Union, said Friday that Microsoft made commitments to address concerns over the tying of Teams to its widely-used productivity tools, such as Word and Outlook.

Under a series of proposals, Microsoft has committed to make versions of Office 365 and Microsoft 365 available without Teams at a reduced price, as well as allow customers to switch to the tools without Teams, including under existing contracts.

President Donald Trump said he would set tariff rates for US trading partners “over the next two to three weeks,” saying his administration lacks the capacity to negotiate deals with all of its trading partners.

Trump said Friday that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick “will be sending letters out essentially telling people” what “they’ll be paying to do business in the United States.”

“I think we’re going to be very fair. But it’s not possible to meet the number of people that want to see us,” the president said during a meeting with business executives in the United Arab Emirates.

The US president asserted there are “150 countries that want to make a deal.” He didn’t say how many, or which, nations would receive letters.

Gold fell, extending its weekly loss, as investors booked profits after trade tensions eased between the US and China this week, cutting demand for haven assets.

Bullion fell as much as 1.4% to trade near $3,200 an ounce. Traders exited positions after the metal climbed in the previous session on stronger expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts following weak US data.

Progress on trade negotiations between the US and China has also sapped appetite for haven demand, adding to bearish headwinds for gold as a detente between the world’s two largest economies led to a sharp rebound in risk assets this week.

Stocks had received a boost on Thursday as bond yields fell in anticipation of more rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve, after some disappointing macro data.

The Nasdaq underperformed as big tech was under pressure.

However, the Federal Reserve chair warned that interest rates may remain higher for long as the economy navigates a period of heightened uncertainty, volatile inflation and persistent supply shocks.

Futures on Wall Street are trading with gains indicating a positive start for Wall Street on the final trading day of the week.

The Dow futures are up 150 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures are up 15 points and 50 points respectively.

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Futures are indicating a strong end to the week for Wall Street.

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