- 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
- Race four abandoned after New Zealand breeze into 3-0 lead in America's Cup
- West Indies win toss, put Sri Lanka in to bat in first T20
- Sudan rescuers say air strike killed 23 in Khartoum market
- Netanyahu tells UN to move Lebanon peacekeepers out of 'harm's way'
- Bangladeshi Hindus defy attack worries to celebrate festival
- Kiwis three up in America's Cup as Ineos pay for time penalty
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Dominant England crush Scotland at Women's T20 World Cup
- Dropped: The rise and fall of Pakistan batting maestro Babar Azam
- Israel fights Hezbollah on the ground, pounds Lebanon from the air
- Sabalenka outlasts local hero Zheng to win third Wuhan Open title
Stocks struggle to extend Fed-fuelled rally
World stock markets struggled Friday to build on the previous day's rally as investors recalibrated their outlook for 2024 after the Federal Reserve held rates but indicated it would cut next year.
On Wall Street the Dow was flat, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose less than half of one percent two hours into the session after Asia had earlier mainly advanced.
Europe diverged amid news of slumping eurozone business activity as Frankfurt ended flat while Paris rounded out the week slightly ahead for a record close but London lost one percent.
Markets faced a busy week for global interest rates after the Federal Reserve pivoted Wednesday to signal it would cut next year.
Both the Bank of England and the European Central Bank distanced themselves on Thursday from cutting any time soon.
New York federal reserve President John Williams added to the caution, telling CNBC: "We aren't really talking about rate cuts right now."
The dollar wavered after diving in initial reaction to the Fed's plans, while oil prices dipped a day after spiking more than three percent in value.
The BoE and ECB Thursday froze borrowing costs, in line with the Fed.
But both warned that the fight against inflation was not over and doused any hopes of early rate cuts next year amid talk of as many as half a dozen by the Fed.
- 'Pivot party' -
"The ECB and the BoE refused to join the Fed-thrown pivot party," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
"Both (ECB president) Christine Lagarde and (BoE governor) Andrew Bailey declined to discuss cutting interest rates, judging a policy loosening too early as the inflation threat looms," she added, noting also that Norway had sprung a surprise rate hike.
"As a result, the rally in global stock and bond markets slowed."
Nevertheless, the Fed's more-dovish-than-expected pivot has set up equities for a Santa rally, with a string of data suggesting inflation in the world's top economy was being tamed while avoiding recession.
Now the debate turns to the timing of the first cut and how many there will be. Some experts have suggested there could be more than the three envisaged in the Fed's "dot plot". JPMorgan economists see five.
The prospect of borrowing conditions being easier next year helped push the Dow to a second straight record high Thursday, while the S&P 500 is just shy of its own all-time peak, but Friday saw scant movement.
Asian indices were also buoyed by news that China had injected more cash than expected into the financial system.
Hong Kong led the advances, surging more than two percent, while Tokyo rebounded from the previous day's loss as the yen's rally against the dollar faded, though Shanghai gave up early gains to end down.
Dealers are now keenly awaiting the Bank of Japan's policy decision next week after boss Kazuo Ueda suggested officials could soon move away from their ultra-loose policy.
- Key figures around 1645 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 37,270.90 points
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.0 percent at 7,576.36 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 7,596.91 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: FLAT at 16,751.54 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3 percent at 4,554.47
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.9 percent at 32,970.55 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.4 percent at 16,792.19 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 2,942.56 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0905 from $1.0996
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 141.81 yen from 141.87 yen
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2697 from $1.2764
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.87 pence from 86.12 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $71.34 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $76.45 per barrel
A.Rodriguezv--AMWN