- 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
- Croatia extend Scotland's losing streak
- South Africa, New Zealand boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes
- 'Very challenging': Israel faces Hezbollah in tricky terrain
- Farrell begins to feel at home as Racing 92 beat Toulon
- South Africa boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes with Bangladesh win
Strong US inflation dampens stock market enthusiasm
Stock markets in Europe retreated from their highs after a cautious open on Wall Street as US consumer inflation data came in stronger than expected, denting hopes that policymakers will cut interest rates anytime soon.
The highly anticipated CPI reading for December showed prices rising by 3.4 percent year-on-year, up from 3.1 percent the previous month and above most analyst forecasts of 3.2-3.3 percent.
And the so-called core inflation rate that strips out food and energy costs stood at 3.9 percent, down from 4.0 percent but higher than the consensus for 3.8 percent.
Global equity markets had powered higher in the closing months of last year on expectations the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank could soon begin loosening monetary policy as pricing pressures eased.
That prospect now seems less likely, prompting a lower opening on Wall Street before recovering, while European stocks pared earlier gains.
"The rise in headline inflation should dampen expectations for an imminent rate cut as the Fed will be conscious of pinning inflation down to its two percent target before releasing the pressure," said Richard Flax, chief investment officer at the European wealth manager Moneyfarm.
Callie Cox, investment analyst at trading platform eToro, said: "The heat looks to be driven by services prices, which could force markets to keep walking back the rate cut trade."
For many investors the data might have been an excuse to lock in profits from the strong recent run, with Cox adding that most still expect inflation to ease as pressures remain on the global economic outlook.
"We need to see significant weakness in the job market before we're worried about the stock market," she said.
The looming corporate earnings season and its clues on the outlook for 2024 also argued for a cautious stance after Wall Street jumped on Wednesday, led by technology stocks.
In Asia, Tokyo led the way earlier 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.
The eased expectations of US rate cuts gave a boost to the dollar, which reversed earlier losses against its main rival currencies.
Elsewhere, Bitcoin surged after the New York open, rising to nearly $49,000 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.
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 1445 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 at 7,645.04 points
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 7,454.72
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 16,716.16
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.4 percent at 4,487.26
New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 37,733.30
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)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0961 from $1.0976 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2741 from $1.2742
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.03 pence from 86.10 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 145.90 yen from 145.77 yen
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.5 percent at $73.14 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.2 percent at $78.51 per barrel
B.Finley--AMWN