European shares gain on the back of recovery fund talks

European shares traded higher on Friday with Germany’s airline company Lufthansa leading gains on the back of signs on movement in its stalled government bailout. The gains also came ahead of the European Council’s meeting to negotiate the EU recovery fund.

The European Council will have its first meeting to discuss a commission’s proposal to raise €750 billion worth of debt, adding from joint treasuries to be worth €1.1 trillion around 2021 to 2027.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 0.5% at 0705 GMT, with Frankfurt stocks leading the rally.

Shares from Lufthansa gained 3.5% after Heinz Hermann Thiele, its major shareholder, reached out to politicians in Berlin to talk over the latest standoff over the company’s €9 billion ($10.1 billion) bailout.    

New COVID-19 cases have been reported with around 400 workers in northern Germany testing positive on Thursday. Meanwhile, more new cases have been reported in several countries including the U.S. and China.