European shares poised for sixth weekly gain, aided by trade optimism

European shares were on course for a sixth straight weekly gain on Friday, following a record close on Wall Street as bullish comments from a White House official on a U.S.-China trade deal boosted trade-sensitive miners, technology stocks and automakers.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 0.4% by 0819 GMT, inching back to a four-year high hit last week. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said late on Thursday Washington and Beijing were getting close to a trade agreement, citing what he called very constructive talks with Beijing about ending a 16-month trade war.

Miners were the top gainers on the day, up about 1.5%, followed by technology stocks. Shares in chipmakers Infineon, STMicroelectronics and ASML Holding rose between 0.8% and 1%, after industry bellwether Applied Materials forecast a strong first quarter ahead of the 5G rollout in key markets.

Telecom shares were boosted by a 2.5% gain in Orange after France's biggest telecoms operator said it was preparing to split its mobile towers unit into a separate company.