The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.5% by 0720 GMT, adding to gains made earlier this week when the index erased all of its pandemic-driven losses.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that the goods and services deficit was $71.1 billion in February, up $3.3 billion from $67.8 billion in January, revised.

Novatek seeks to raise $11 billion in external financing and has said it planned to get the funds by the first half of this year.

Global growth is projected at 6 percent in 2021, moderating to 4.4 percent in 2022.

Japan’s Nikkei was a shade higher while Australian shares rose 0.6% and South Korea’s KOSPI added 0.5%. Chinese shares, however, were weaker with the bluechip CSI300 index down about 1% after a strong rally last week.

"In the medium and long term, JGC Corporation will work with Fluor to secure and execute SMR EPC projects on a global basis, and intends to seek opportunities in integrating SMRs with renewable energy, as well as with hydrogen production and seawater desalination," JGC said.

European traders returned from a long weekend to push the STOXX 600 up 0.8% to 435.7 points. It has climbed more than 60% from last year’s lows and surpassed its previous all-time high of 433.90 points in February 2020.

The UAE Sunday announced $3 billion investment in Iraq in a fresh bid to strengthen the economic and investment relations between the two fraternal nations.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 916,000 in March, and the unemployment rate edged down to 6.0 percent,

Chinese issuers including banks, property developers, power generators and railway operators sold $15.7 billion of bonds during January-March period to fund ‘green’ projects such as clean and renewable energy,

The plan proposes $100 billion in spending on upgrading and building out the nation's aging and regionally siloed electric transmission system. Various studies have estimated the U.S. will need to double or even triple its electric transmission capacity to successfully decarbonize its economy by midcentury.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.9% to 14,713 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex dropped 1% to 49,631, as of 0511 GMT.

The consortium, which includes ITOCHU Corporation, Hitachi Zosen Inova, BESIX Group and Tech Group, will build and operate the AED4 billion ($1.1bn) project under a 35-year concession period with Dubai Municipality.

European stocks opened higher with the regional STOXX 600 index up 0.5%. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6%, Germany’s DAX and Italy’s FTSE MIB rose 0.5% each, and France’s CAC 40 rose 1%.

The IAEA sees increasing work over the coming decades for decommissioning and associated waste management programmes. Many of the world's 443 nuclear power reactors currently in operation will phase out of service, while new reactors to be commissioned will need plans to fund their decommissioning.