- 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
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Former Pakistan captain Azam dropped for second England Test
- 'Opportunist' Dupont dazzles on Toulouse return
- Australia replace injured Vlaeminck with Graham at Women's T20 World Cup
- Sinner wins Shanghai Masters to deny Djokovic 100th career title
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Israel hits Lebanon from the air and fights Hezbollah on the ground
- China's Yin has 'goosebumps' as she romps to LPGA win in Shanghai
- Pakistan to re-use Multan pitch for second England Test
- Blair and King Charles hail Salmond's 'devotion' to Scotland
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- England captain Stokes in line for second Pakistan Test return
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- Israel widens Lebanon strikes as troops fight Hezbollah along border
- Bowlers' graveyards: Pakistan's placid pitches under fresh fire
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Vietnam, China to expand rail links, cross-border payments
- Americans get their belief back as Pochettino makes his mark
- Vietnam, China to boost economic, defence cooperation
- Winning start for Pochettino's American adventure
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- US firms brace for more tariffs as election approaches
- Winning start for Poch's American adventure
- Morocco's tribeswomen see facial tattoo tradition fade
- Centre-left set to win as pro-Ukraine Lithuania votes
- Colombia guerilla group urges delegations not to attend COP16 in Cali
- Pakistan frets over security ahead of SCO summit
- Ronaldo scores 133rd Portugal goal in Nations League win over Poland
- 40 nations contributing to UN Lebanon peacekeeping force condemn 'attacks'
- Eight dead as heavy rain thrashes Brazil after long drought
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- Morocco crush Central African Republic, Guirassy scores hat-trick
- Dupont scores quickfire hat-trick on Toulouse Top 14 return
- Ronaldo scores in Portugal's Nations League win as Spain sink Denmark
- Interim boss Carsley has not applied for England job
- Mets hurler Senga ready to take on Dodgers in game one of NL Championship Series
- Ronaldo on target again as Portugal defeat Poland in Nations League
- Guardians rip Tigers 7-3 to advance in MLB playoffs
- AFP, BBC win top French war reporting awards
- Carsley goes back to basics as humbled England face Finland
- Alex Salmond: the man who took Scotland to the brink of independence
- Scotland's former leader Alex Salmond dies aged 69: party
- UN warns of catastrophe as Israel fights a two-front war
Stock markets gain, dollar down before US inflation data
Major stock markets mostly rose and the dollar fell Thursday before the release of US inflation data that could have a huge bearing on the Federal Reserve's timetable for cutting interest rates.
The positive vibes across Asian and European trading floors followed gains Wednesday on Wall Street, where tech firms bounced after a relatively dour start to the year and dealers were gearing up for annual earnings from the world's biggest companies.
"Today sees the latest US inflation data take centre stage, with sentiment for US stocks expected to remain highly sensitive to any changes in the outlook for monetary policy going forward," said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.
Wall Street won support Wednesday thanks to share-price gains for tech titans Amazon, Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet, which have had a weak start to 2024.
Tokyo led the way in Asia on Thursday, piling on 1.8 percent to finish above 35,000 points for the first time since early 1990 as a weak yen boosted exporters.
Bitcoin held at around $46,600, having burst above $47,700 earlier in the day on news that the US Securities and Exchange Commission had given the go-ahead for wider trading of the world's biggest cryptocurrency in the form of exchange-traded funds.
The SEC approved the plans for 11 ETFs to list on leading exchanges including the New York Stock Exchange "on an accelerated basis", it said.
Analysts said the unit failed to take off after the news as the decision had largely been priced in over recent weeks.
ETFs are traded on public markets, granting investors exposure to price movements in asset prices without taking direct ownership of the underlying assets.
- Key figures around 1100 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 7,649.01 points
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,439.56
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 16,726.60
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3 percent at 4,483.67
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.8 percent at 35,049.86 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.3 percent at 16,302.04 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 2,886.65 (close)
New York - Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 37,695.73 (close)
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 145.46 yen from 145.77 yen on Wednesday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0978 from $1.0976
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2757 from $1.2742
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.06 pence from 86.10 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.6 percent at $72.50 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.3 percent at $77.78 per barrel
G.Stevens--AMWN