A court in Moscow on Friday began considering a lawsuit filed by the central bank against Euroclear, the Brussels-based clearing house that holds the bulk of Russian assets frozen by the European Union.

The lawsuit seeks to recover 18.2 trillion rubles ($232 billion) in damages incurred when Russia was barred from managing and disposing of its Euroclear funds and securities, the bank said. The case is being heard behind closed doors.

Shares slipped in Europe after a mixed session Friday in Asia, while U.S. futures edged higher.

Oil prices rebounded after dropping sharply on Thursday.

Taiwan's premier on Friday hailed a new trade deal with the United States as the "best tariff deal" enjoyed by countries with trade surpluses with Washington, as meanwhile a Chinese official in Beijing condemned the accord.

The agreement cuts U.S. tariffs on Taiwanese goods to 15% in exchange for $250 billion in new investments in the U.S. tech industry. It is comparable to deals with the European Union and Japan worked out after President Donald Trump proposed sweeping tariffs for many U.S. trading partners.

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez used her first state of the union message Thursday to advocate for opening the crucial state-run oil industry to more foreign investment following the Trump administration's pledge to seize control of Venezuelan crude sales.

For the first time, Rodríguez laid out a vision for Venezuela's new political reality — one that challenges her government's most deeply rooted beliefs less than two weeks after the United States captured and toppled former President Nicolás Maduro.

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a deal with China's Xi Jinping on Friday to reduce tariffs on each country's products after the two leaders met in Beijing.

"Canada and China have reached a preliminary but landmark trade agreement to remove trade barriers and reduce, reduce tariffs," Carney told a news conference in the Chinese capital.

On the first trip by a Canadian leader to China in eight years, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that the two countries are entering a new era of relations.

Carney, who became prime minister 10 months ago, is attempting to repair ties with China following several years of acrimony over issues ranging from Canada's 2018 arrest of a senior Chinese tech executive to 100% Canadian tariffs on China-made electric vehicles.

Germany's troubled economy returned to modest growth last year after two years of falling output, official figures showed, as hopes rise that government spending on bridges, rail lines and defense may help end years of stagnation.

The expansion in gross domestic product of 0.2% for 2025 was fueled by stronger consumer and government spending while exports sagged under the weight of more restrictive U.S. trade policy under President Donald Trump, the German Federal Statistical Office said on Thursday.

Talks on a landmark free trade deal between the European Union and four South American countries started so long ago that the euro wasn't even in circulation, China hadn't yet joined the World Trade Organization and Venezuela was still America's top oil provider.

But against a starkly different geopolitical background and tough odds — including backlash from powerful protectionist lobbies — the EU and the South American alliance known as Mercosur are expected to formally sign their quarter-century-in-the-making trade pact this Saturday at a ceremony in Paraguay.

Oil prices plunged on Thursday after fears over instability in Iran were eased by comments from U.S. President Donald Trump.

West Texas Intermediate dropped 3.0 percent to $60.16 per barrel while Brent crude was down 2.93 percent to $64.57, after Trump said he had been told the killings of protesters in Iran had been halted.

The European Union will dedicate most of a massive new loan program to Ukraine's military needs over the next two years while also injecting billions into its war-ravaged economy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday.

EU leaders agreed last month to loan Ukraine 90 billion euros ($105 billion) to help cover its needs in 2026 and 2027. Kyiv would only have to pay the money back once Russia ends its war and pays reparations for the damage it has inflicted over almost four years.