The Stoxx 600 rose by 0.3% at the opening bell, led by oil and gas stocks which jumped 1.2%, while utilities were the only sector to open in the red, dropping 0.6% in opening trades.

· Back in Europe, a poll conducted in Germany on Wednesday revealed that most Germans do not see Angela Merkel’s heir apparent, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, as fit to replace her, denting the party’s hopes for a smooth leadership transition.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped to a fresh four-month low before finding a bit of traction to edge up0.1%.

As investors switched out of equities, safe-haven assets such as government bonds found favor, with yields on German benchmark debt approaching record lows.

· The upcoming G20 summit could provide the markets with relief, as the United States and China could use the event to begin negotiating again over trade.”

The G20 meeting is set for June 28-29 in Japan.

Observers elsewhere expressed less optimism toward the G20 meeting.

· Japan's Nikkei share average closed at a 3-1/2-month low on Thursday, on growing anxiety the trade dispute between the United States and China will be prolonged and damaging to the economy.

The Nikkei fell 0.29 per cent to 20,942, its lowest close since mid-February. It earlier declined as much as 0.92 per cent to 20,809, edging near its May 14 intraday low of 20,751.

The broader Topix slipped 0.29 per cent to 1,531.98, its lowest finish since Jan. 11.

· China stocks dropped on Thursday, as trade war fears heightened after Beijing stepped up the rhetoric against Washington.

The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.6%, to 3,641.18, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3% to 2,905.81.

Provoking trade disputes is “naked economic terrorism”, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Thursday, ramping up the rhetoric against the United States amid a bitter trade war that is not showing any signs of ending soon.

“This kind of deliberately provoking trade disputes is naked economic terrorism, economic homicide, economic bullying,” China’s Vice Foreign Minster Zhang Hanhui said.

His comments came after Chinese newspapers reported that Beijing could use rare earths to strike back at Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump remarked he was “not yet ready” to make a deal with China over trade.