The China Mail - Gold tops $3,000 for first time on Trump tariff threats

"Markets hate uncertainty, and Trump's second tenure in the White House has served to provide huge instability over expectations for trade, jobs, inflation, and government spending," said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.

However, Asian equities managed to end the week on a positive note while European markets were also up in midday deals.

Stocks gained support from "hopes that the US government would avoid a shutdown of non-essential services", said Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.

With just hours until a deadline to push a Republican spending bill through, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer dropped his threat to block it.

The package would keep the lights on through September, but Democrats have come under pressure from their grassroots to defy the plan, which they say is full of harmful spending cuts.

London's FTSE 100 index rose as the pound dropped against the dollar, after data showed the UK economy unexpectedly shrank in January.

In the eurozone, Paris and Frankfurt both rebounded after losses the previous day on US tariff threats.

In the latest salvo, Trump threatened to impose 200 percent tariffs on wine, champagne and other alcoholic beverages from European Union countries in retaliation against the bloc's planned levies on American-made whiskey and other products.

The EU's tariffs were announced in retaliation to Trump's levies on steel and aluminium.

The president said he would not row back on the metals duties, nor plans for sweeping reciprocal tariffs on countries worldwide that are due to kick in as soon as April 2.

Observers have warned that markets are being wracked by uncertainty amid fears the increasing trade war between major global economies could reignite inflation.

Wall Street has been hammered, with the S&P 500 slipping into a correction Thursday, having fallen more than 10 percent from its recent peak -- a record high touched just last month.

In Asia, markets benefitted from news that Chinese officials would hold a news conference Monday on measures to boost consumption, with Hong Kong rising over two percent and Shanghai jumping 1.8 percent on Friday.

Tokyo also advanced.

In company news, shares in Gucci-owner Kering slumped more than 10 percent in Paris as the group appointed a new creative director to helm its struggling flagship brand.

Shares in BMW dropped over two percent as the German premium carmaker reported a plunge in profits last year and warned of challenges for the year ahead from trade tensions and weak demand in China.

Meanwhile, major conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings -- owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing -- tumbled in Hong Kong after Chinese officials in the city reposted an newspaper opinion piece attacking the firm over its sale of a controlling stake in Panama ports under pressure from Trump.

It had surged as much as 25 percent after the sale last week.

- Key figures around 1040 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,585.92 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 7,995.07

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.9 percent at 22,779.07

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 37,053.10 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.1 percent at 23,959.98 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.8 percent at 3,419.56 (close)

New York - Dow: DOWN 1.3 percent at 40,813.57 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0889 from $1.0849 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2942 from $1.2948

Dollar/yen: UP at 148.66 yen from 147.75 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 84.08 pence from 83.75 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.9 percent at $70.52 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.0 percent at $67.22 per barrel

L.Kwan--ThChM