Trade deal optimism fuels a rally as high-level talks between the U.S. and China get underway and President Trump hails the progress ahead of a planned meeting with Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He later today. In the U.K., sterling jumps to a two-week high against the dollar after Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he saw a ‘pathway’ to a Brexit deal following positive talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In corporate news, SAP CEO Bill McDermott announces his plans to step down following a decade at the helm of the German software titan. New co-CEO Jennifer Morgan tells CNBC that the time is right for a change of leadership. And luxury German fashion group Hugo Boss revises its full-year outlook for the second time this year citing weak U.S. sales and the ongoing anti-government protests rocking Hong Kong.   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.