World stocks advance as trade war worries cool.

The DAX (German stock index) logo is seen at
the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany,
March 23, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks edged higher on Thursday as investors used signs of an easing of Sino-U.S. trade tensions to dip back into riskier assets.

The MSCI world equity index <.MIWD00000PUS>, which tracks shares in 47 countries, climbed 0.4 percent, while shares in Europe (.STOXX) jumped 1.6 percent to a two-week high.

Cyclical sectors including basic resources (.SXPP), autos (.SXAP) and banks (.SX7P), hit particularly hard over the past two sessions in Europe, led gains.

Sentiment was lifted as Washington expressed a willingness to negotiate, after proposed U.S. tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods prompted swift retaliation from Beijing.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 0.6 percent, a day after it hit its lowest in almost two months.

By Kit Rees.

Full story at Yahoo News.