- Russian prosecutor demands 3 years prison for French researcher
- 'Innocent' British nerve agent victim caught in global murder plot: inquiry
- Afghan Taliban vow to implement media ban on images of living things
- Russian prosecutor demands 3 years, 3 months jail for French researcher
- England ready for Pakistan's spin assault in second Test
- New Zealand's Ravindra excited for India Tests with father in crowd
- India's capital bans fireworks to curb air pollution
- Stocks diverge, oil retreats as China disappoints markets
- FIFA to open 'global dialogue' on transfer system after Diarra ruling
- Trio wins economics Nobel for work on wealth inequality
- Starmer vows to cut red tape as he urges foreign investors to 'back' UK
- Ex-Stasi officer jailed over 1974 Berlin border killing
- 'Not viable': Barcelona turns against surging tourism
- Hezbollah says targeted Israeli naval base after deadly drone strike
- Rice praises 'unbelievable' England interim boss Carsley despite uncertainty
- Nepali teenager hailed as hero after climbing world's 8,000m peaks
- England captain Stokes back from injury for second Pakistan Test
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as markets rally
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as Asian markets rally
- South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone flights anger North
- Pakistan 'vigilantes' behind rise in online blasphemy cases
- Nearly 90, but opera legend Kabaivanska is still calling tune
- Smith experiment as Test opener over, Green out of India series
- With inflation down, ECB eyes faster tempo of rate cuts
- Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate
- Dodgers crush Mets 9-0 in MLB playoff series opener
- South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone tensions soar
- Cummins back, Marsh and Head out of Pakistan ODI series
- Shanghai stocks swing after stimulus briefing as most of Asia rises
- New Zealand's Latham promises 'no fear' as he takes charge for India Tests
- Kyrgios vows to 'shut up' doubters with December comeback
- Public hearings start into death of Brit by Russian nerve agent
- Ex-Stasi officer faces verdict over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Role of government, poverty research tipped for economics Nobel
- 'Stolen satire' feeds US election misinformation
- Rookie McCarty captures first PGA Tour title in Black Desert Championship
- Australia all-rounder Green ruled out of India Test series
- Seeing double in Nigeria's 'twins capital of the world'
- UK FM to attend EU foreign affairs talks for first time in 2 years
- Carter, Billups among 13 new Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
- Ravens rip Commanders as Lions lose NFL sacks leader in win
- Hezbollah drone strike kills four, wounds dozens at Israeli base
- China says launches military drills around Taiwan
- Stewart leads Liberty past Lynx to level WNBA Finals
- England return to winning ways in Nations League, Austria thrash Norway
- UN chief says attacks on UNIFIL 'may constitute a war crime'
- Ravens outlast Commanders while Bucs batter Saints in NFL
- Dozens hurt in Israel as Hezbollah claims drone strike
- England deserve 'world class' coach: Carsley
- Burkina Faso win to become first qualifiers for 2025 AFCON
Global stocks mixed as OECD warns of Middle East conflict risk
Oil prices rose again Wednesday following a report of possible additional output cuts by exporters as the OECD pared back its global growth forecast and warned of an economic hit from the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Prices of West Texas Intermediate and Brent oil futures, the two leading benchmarks, each climbed nearly two percent after the Wall Street Journal reported that OPEC and Russia-led allies were mulling additional cuts of as much as a million barrels per day.
But the newspaper said an agreement isn't assured, while noting that the talk comes amid heightened tension over the Middle East conflict.
Oil prices have been volatile since a planned meeting of the OPEC+ group was postponed last week.
Meanwhile, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development trimmed its forecast for global growth this year to 2.9 percent, down from the 3.0 percent it forecast in September.
The OECD still sees near-term risks to its forecast tilted to the downside, pointing to the heightened geopolitical tensions due to the Israel-Hamas conflict as "a key source of near-term uncertainty" for the global economy.
"If the conflict were to intensify and broaden within the wider region, there are much stronger risks that could slow growth and push up inflation," said the OECD, which advises its 38 member countries on economic policy.
US stocks were mixed at the end of a choppy session following government data that upgraded US economic growth in the third quarter.
The world's biggest economy saw GDP growth of 5.2 percent at an annual rate in the July to September period, due to higher investment and government spending than originally expected.
The initial estimate put growth at 4.9 percent.
The figures show growth in the last quarter was even stronger than thought, but a note from Oxford Economics warned, "the only way is down."
While Paris and Frankfurt advanced, Hong Kong led the retreaters owing to heavy selling in big-name tech firms, while there were also losses in Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, Bangkok and Manila.
Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta edged up. Wellington was flat.
Among individual companies, General Motors shares surged 9.4 percent after announcing a $10 billion "accelerated" share repurchase program and plans to boost its dividend by 33 percent.
The US automaker also reinstated its profit outlook after suspending it due to a strike earlier in the fall.
- Key figures around 2130 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP less than 0.1 percent at 35,430.42 (close)
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,550.58 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.2 percent at 14,258.49 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,423.46 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,267.64 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.1 percent at 16,166.45 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.5 percent at 4,370.53 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 33,321.22 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.1 percent at 16,993.44 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,021.69 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0978 from $1.0993 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2698 from $1.2694
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.22 yen from 147.48 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.43 pence from 86.59 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.9 percent at $77.86 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.7 percent at $83.10 per barrel
burs-rl-jmb/des
L.Davis--AMWN