- 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
- Samson ton powers India to T20 series sweep after record total
- Djokovic to face Sinner in Shanghai final with 100th title in sight
- UN peacekeepers to remain in Lebanon: spokesman
- Pro-Conquest film fuels debate in Mexico over colonial legacy
- Samson ton powers India to record 297-6 in Bangladesh T20
- New Zealand enjoy perfect start to America's Cup defence over Britain
- Pogacar emulates icon Coppi with fourth straight Il Lombardia triumph
- UN warns against 'catastrophic' regional conflict
- New Zealand crush Ineos Britannia in America's Cup opener
- Djokovic to face Sinner in blockbuster Shanghai Masters final
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- Sri Lanka seeks to match success in W.Indies T20s
- Sinner reaches Shanghai final, will end year number one
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Sabalenka downs Gauff in three sets to reach Wuhan final
- Israel warns south Lebanon residents to 'not return'
- Sinner tames Machac to reach Shanghai Masters final
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- Hezbollah fires at Israel as wars rage on Yom Kippur
- Analysts warn more detail needed on new China economic measures
- China tees up fresh spending to boost ailing economy
- China says will issue special bonds to boost ailing economy
Global stocks mixed as S&P 500 closes at new record
Global stocks mostly rose Wednesday, fueled by some strong earnings results in New York, robust business activity in Europe, and intervention by regulators in China.
Wall Street stocks were mixed, with the S&P 500 rising 0.1 percent to hit a new record, the Dow slipping and the Nasdaq finishing higher.
Amid individual companies, Netflix shares surged more than 10 percent as it reported adding some 13 million subscribers in the most recent quarter, raising hopes about results from other tech giants.
Besides Netflix, most other large tech companies including Amazon and Meta Platforms climbed higher ahead of earnings reports, while Microsoft edged above $3 trillion in market value before finishing the day just below it with a gain of 0.9 percent.
Analysts also cited favorable US purchasing managers' survey data from S&P Global that showed both manufacturing and services in expansion.
The upbeat US data "continues the same trend that we saw last year when the economic growth was stronger than expected all year and the big slowdown that people were looking for never occurred," said LBBW's Karl Haeling.
"This is overall a good situation for stocks because it gives you hope for a soft landing," he said.
US car giant Tesla's shares fell around three percent in after-hours trading after its fourth quarter revenue and profit missed analysts' expectations.
- 'Good news?' -
In Europe, Frankfurt and Paris made gains after data showed eurozone business activity fell in January for the eighth straight month, but the rate of decline slowed from December, according to a key survey.
S&P Global's HCOB flash eurozone purchasing managers' index (PMI) registered a figure of 47.9 in January from 47.6 in December. A figure below 50 indicates contraction.
In France, manufacturing and services sectors recorded steepening contractions as output fell at the sharpest rate since September. Business activity also slumped at a faster rate in Germany, the bloc's biggest economy.
"A bad news story is often more powerful than a good news story," noted Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading firm XTB.
"If the eurozone economy is facing a recession this year, as many expect, then the ECB can ride to the rescue, and they have room to cut interest rates," she said, referring to the European Central Bank.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index also rose -- but less aggressively -- after fresh figures showed UK business activity hit a seven-month high in January as a stronger service sector helped counteract supply disruption in the Red Sea.
S&P Global's flash UK PMI index rose to 52.5 in January from 52.1 in December.
- China changes fuel rally -
Earlier Wednesday the People's Bank of China said it would next month lower the amount of cash banks must keep in reserve as it looks to ramp up lending to help kick-start the stuttering economy.
That helped Hong Kong stocks rise more than three percent.
Sentiment was also boosted by reports Alibaba's co-founders had bought huge stakes in the firm.
The Hang Seng's rise was fuelled by a 7.3 percent surge in Alibaba on news that Jack Ma and Joseph Tsai had bought about $200 million worth of shares.
Not all indexes in Asia rose. The Nikkei closed down after Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda indicated the Japanese central bank could move away from ultra-loose monetary policy.
- Key figures around 2100 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 37,806.39 points (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.1 percent at 4,868.55 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.4 percent at 15,481.91 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,527.67 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 7,455.64 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.6 percent at 16,889.92 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 2.2 percent at 4,564.11 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 36,226.48 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 3.6 percent at 15,899.87 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.8 percent at 2,820.77 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0883 from $1.0854 on Tuesday
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.62 yen from 148.35 yen
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2717 from $1.2687
Euro/pound: UP at 85.56 pence from 85.55 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.0 percent at $75.09 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $80.04 per barrel
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A.Jones--AMWN