- 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
- AC Milan's Pulisic among five out for USA match in Mexico
- France's Amandine Henry retires from international football
- Centre-left set to win pro-Ukraine Lithuania's vote
- India's World Cup hopes in Pakistan hands after Australia defeat
- Zelensky says NKorea sending troops to Russian army
- England beat Finland to get back on track
- King and Lewis propel West Indies to T20 triumph over Sri Lanka
- Pre-Halloween 'Terrifier' lands atop North America box office
- 'I still plan to compete and play next season,' says Djokovic
- Harris, Trump seek advantage in knife-edge election battle
- Chepngetich shatters women's marathon world record in Chicago
- Kamindu and Asalanka power Sri Lanka to 179 against West Indies
- Chepngetich shatters women's marathon world record as Korir wins in Chicago
- Spain send injured Yamal home 'to prioritise player's health'
- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Iraq walks fine line with pro-Iran factions to avoid war
US, European stocks mixed as data comforts rate-cut bets
US and European stocks diverged on Tuesday despite data comforting expectations that central banks may begin cutting interest rates soon.
Equity markets surged last month as slowing inflation and a softer US job market stoked expectations that the Federal Reserve would early next year begin loosening monetary policy.
But stocks have struggled in recent days as investors and analysts worried that the bets on interest rate cuts may have gone too far.
Investors are looking to US payrolls data due out later this week for confirmation that the slowdown in the labour market and economy sought by the US Federal Reserve is taking hold, which would help bring down inflation further and allow policymakers to begin cutting interest rates.
"The markets are a touch nervous ahead of US jobs figures this week which could either reinforce or undermine the narrative that interest rates have peaked and rate cuts are on the way," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
"Signs the labour market is heating up again would put any hopes of a Santa rally into the end of the year under threat," he added.
But different US labour market figures released on Tuesday showed a monthly decline in job openings dropped in October to 8.7 million from 9.4 million in September.
The data "suggest that labour market slack is growing, even as payroll growth remains relatively resilient," said Olivia Cross at Capital Economics.
"With signs pointing to a sharper fall in wage growth ahead, the Fed can be reassured ahead of its meeting next week that inflationary pressures from the labour market are dissipating," she added.
In late morning trading the Dow dipped, while the S&P 500 was flat and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose.
More than one percentage point of rate reductions through to next December have been priced in by futures traders, according to Bloomberg News.
But observers said the euphoria may have caused investors to get ahead of themselves and the next few weeks could be a little bumpy, while they remained broadly upbeat about the new year.
Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson said in a note that this month could see "near-term volatility in both rates and equities" before positive seasonal trends and "January effect" provide a lift next month.
"The biggest near-term risk for the markets could simply be that after a phenomenal one-month rally, a period of consolidation may be a necessary breather," said UBS Global Wealth Management's Jason Draho.
A forecast-beating reading on Friday of key US payrolls data could jolt markets.
The Fed holds its next policy meeting next week with most watchers tipping it to stand pat on rates, though its statement will be parsed for any clues about plans for the next few months.
In Europe, Frankfurt's DAX 40 index hit a record high of 16,551.34 points during trading and then set a record close of 16,533.11 points as hopes of a rate cut by the ECB are also on the rise. Paris stocks also climbed.
London's FTSE 100 fell however, as mining stocks were pulled down by lower commodity prices.
The price of haven investment gold dropped slightly, after striking a record high on Monday at $2,135.39 per ounce as the dollar weakened on expectations for a rate cut.
Bitcoin on Tuesday reached $42,397.32, a fresh high since April last year, before pulling lower.
European gas prices hit the lowest level in nearly two months, bringing some relief amid cold weather.
After markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong closed, Moody's said it had downgraded its outlook on China's credit rating citing rising debt in the world's second-largest economy.
- Key figures around 1630 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 36,112.40 points
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,489.84 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 7,386.99 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.8 percent at 16,533.11 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.6 percent at 4, (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.4 percent at 32,775.82 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.9 percent at 16,327.86 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.7 percent at 2,972.30 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0795 from $1.0839 on Monday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2600 from $1.2632
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.17 yen from 147.19 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.67 pence from 85.77 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $73.46 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.5 percent at $78.39 per barrel
burs-rl/rox
M.Fischer--AMWN