- Oil prices hit by easing Middle East fears, most Asian markets rise
- Mbappe-PSG salary row faces hearing as France captain cited in 'rape' report
- K-pop star tells South Korea lawmakers of workplace bullying
- Ex-Wallabies captain Elsom denies wrongdoing after arrest warrant
- Pakistan 79-2 at lunch in second England Test after Leach strikes
- Hopes pinned on peace across Taiwan Strait after drills
- Valencia fans leave Singapore with 'stern warning' after protest
- Falling sales cause sour grapes for iconic Portugal wine
- Belgian pathologist and literary star gives 'voice to the dead'
- Ethiopia's 'korale' recyclers turn waste into money
- Italy row, AI in focus at world's biggest book fair
- US, Philippines launch war games a day after China's Taiwan drills
- Scotland lock Gray signs for Japan's Toyota
- Allen and Bills foil Rodgers, outlast Jets 23-20
- North Korea blows up roads connecting it to the South
- East Timor fights new battles 25 years after independence vote
- Japan election campaigns kick off for Oct 27 vote
- Home runs propel Mets, Yankees to MLB playoff victories
- Taiwan detects record 153 Chinese military aircraft after drills
- Oil prices drop on easing fears over Middle East, most markets rise
- Reoxygenating oceans: startups lead the way in Baltic Sea
- North Korea's Kim holds security meeting over drone flights
- Cars, chlamydia threaten Australian koalas
- Small town India's DIY film industry comes to London
- Harris slams Trump over military threat to 'enemy from within'
- Can biodiversity credits unlock billions for nature?
- Texas poised to execute autistic man for 'shaken baby' death
- King Charles III heads to Australia and Commonwealth meeting
- In the Colombian Pacific, fighting to save sharks
- Argentina's Matera banned for Italy Test after red card
- Vientos grand slam propels Mets in series-tying win over Dodgers
- Supporters of ex-Bolivia leader Morales block roads over possible arrest
- Germany into Nations League quarters, France and Italy win
- Nagelsmann lauds 'supercharged' Germany's 'best half of the year'
- 'Pandas are coming': Two new bears depart China for US capital
- Dodgers pitcher Kershaw plans to return for 2025
- Mbappe 'investigated for rape' in Sweden: report
- Revived Italy sweep past Israel in Nations League amid high security
- Trudeau slams India as tensions soar over Sikh separatist's murder
- Harris courts Black voters as Trump makes inroads
- Wall Street stocks hit fresh records as oil prices slide
- Nigerian team return home after boycotting AFCON qualifier in Libya
- Nigeria refuse to play in Libya as Algeria, Cameroon qualify
- Strike-hit Boeing leaves experts puzzled by strategy
- Leweling rockets Germany past Dutch and into Nations League quarterfinals
- Kolo Muani double fires France to win in Belgium
- Italy sweep past Israel in Nations League amid high security
- UN peacekeepers to 'stay in all positions' in Lebanon
- NASA launches probe to study if life possible on icy Jupiter moon
- 'Unique' Ronaldo an example to everyone, says Martinez
Earnings help stocks resist despite sticky inflation
Stocks traded mixed on Friday as blockbuster earnings from Amazon and Intel fuelled hope of a tech bounce despite a report showing persistent US inflation.
Wall Street opened mostly higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq rising 1.0 percent and the S&P 500 also rising. The blue-chip Dow opened flat before sliding lower.
Both Amazon and Intel beat expectations in earnings reports released after the close of trading on Thursday.
Shares in Amazon climbed 5.6 percent at the opening bell on Friday, and shares in Intel jumped 8.2 percent.
Investors have been keenly watching how companies take advantage of artificial intelligence while navigating high interest rates.
Meanwhile the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, came in unchanged at 3.4 percent in September on an annual basis. Prices rose by 0.4 percent from August, the same rate as in August.
The figures "had a sticky feel to them, meaning they lacked a stronger trend of disinflation", said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
"That is apt to keep the Fed in a more hawkish mindset... the Fed won't be thinking about a rate cut anytime soon," he said.
The inflation data comes after figures released Thursday showed that the US economy had its best growth since late 2021 during the third quarter.
"We're in a bull market until proven otherwise for one simple reason: most data indicates we're far away from a recession," said Callie Cox at eToro.
The data come ahead of the Fed's monetary policy decision next week, with expectations it will hold interest rates steady again given high inflation and the resilient US economy.
Officials have lined up in recent months to say that while there might not be any more cuts, rates could be kept at two-decade highs for an extended period.
Asian equity markets rose on the strong US tech earnings, but European stocks were lower in afternoon trade as a number of companies failed to meet earnings expectations.
The showing comes at the end of a rollercoaster week for equities, but the Middle East crisis continued to cast a shadow as Israel said ground forces had raided central Gaza for a second day.
Oil prices rallied more than two percent before paring gains, recovering much of their losses from Thursday, as traders tracked developments in the Israel-Hamas war amid concerns it could draw in other countries.
The drop came even after the Israeli military reported Friday more attacks by ground forces, which followed news that tanks and infantry had entered Gaza in a "targeted raid" before withdrawing to home soil.
Aircraft also struck targets in Lebanon late Wednesday in retaliation for a missile launch.
Fears of a region-wide conflict were stoked after Iran's foreign minister warned the United States it would not go unaffected if the hostilities spread.
- Key figures around 1330 GMT -
New York - Dow: FLAT at 32,785.09 points
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,346.83
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 14,790.36
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 6,855.82
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 4,047.34
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.3 percent at 30,991.69 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.1 percent at 17,398.73 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.0 percent at 3,017.78 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0582 from $1.0563 on Thursday
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 149.72 yen from 150.43 yen
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2150 from $1.2129
Euro/pound: FLAT at 87.08 pence from 87.08 pence
Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.3 percent at $89.07 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.5 percent at $84.49 per barrel
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P.Martin--AMWN