- 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
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Dodgers drop Padres 2-0 to advance in MLB playoffs
- Alexei Navalny wrote he knew he would die in prison in new memoir
- Last-minute legal ruling allows betting on US election
- Despite hurricanes, Floridians refuse to leave 'paradise'
- Israel observes Yom Kippur amid firestorm over Lebanon strikes
- Trump demonizes migrants in dark, misleading speech
- X says 'alert' to manipulation efforts after pro-Russia bots report
- US, European markets rise before Boeing unveils sweeping job cuts
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Comoros shock Tunisia, Salah, Mbeumo strike in AFCON qualifiers
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Germany win in Nations League as 10-man Dutch rescue point
- Undav brace sends Germany to victory against Bosnia
- Israel says fired at 'threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- Ecuador's last mountain iceman dies at 80
- Milton leaves at least 16 dead, millions without power in Florida
- Senegal set to announce breakaway development agenda: PM
- UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions
- Injury-hit Australia thrash 'embarrassing' Pakistan at Women's T20 World Cup
- Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
- Israel says fired at 'immediate threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- New US coach Pochettino hails Pulisic but worries over workload
- Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites
- UK govt urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon's case with China
- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
European stock markets drop, Shanghai extends gains
European stock markets dropped on Wednesday as traders reacted to more mixed earnings and weak German data, while Shanghai extended a rally on measures aimed at supporting China's ailing economy.
Analysts said sentiment was hit also by expectations that the Federal Reserve was unlikely to cut US interest rates as soon as March, as inflation stays high.
In Europe, official data Wednesday showed industrial production in Germany fell for a seventh straight month in December, capping a year of manufacturing weakness in Europe's largest economy.
Frankfurt's DAX index was down 0.3 percent in midday trading, while Paris and London were also lower.
In Asia, announcements this week out of Beijing continued to light a fire under equities in Shanghai, though Hong Kong succumbed to profit taking.
Observers warned that Chinese measures aimed at shoring up its economy would not be enough to revive confidence among weary investors, adding that much more need was needed to address a property-sector debt crisis.
Saxo Capital Markets' Charu Chanana said "the effect may be temporary as all these are band-aid measures that cannot fix the structural issues that China is facing from property sector to lack of productivity".
Central Huijin Investment -- the unit that holds Chinese government stakes in major financial institutions -- said it would increase investments in funds.
China's Securities Regulatory Commission meanwhile called on listed firms to ramp up share buybacks, a move that typically boosts stock prices.
Following this, Chinese state media on Wednesday reported that Beijing had removed the head of the CSRC.
Elsewhere on markets, Wall Street chalked up small gains Tuesday thanks to healthy corporate results, including from Spotify and data analytics firm Palantir, whose share price soared more than 30 percent on optimism over its artificial intelligence offerings.
In Europe, TotalEnergies on Wednesday reported record-high annual profit, underpinned by performances in its liquefied natural gas and electricity divisions as the French giant continues to invest heavily in fossil fuel production.
Net profit came in at $21.4 billion for 2023, up four percent on a year earlier.
TotalEnergies' share price slid 3.0 percent, however, with the profit total falling short of market expectations.
Investors globally remain on edge over a range of other issues, including wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and China-US tensions.
"We saw some turbulence in January, and we aren't out of the woods with inflation yet. So, while the trends remain positive, risks could increase over the next couple of months," said Brad McMillan at broker Commonwealth Financial Network.
- Key figures around 1145 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,655.64 points
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,629.97
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 16,988.26
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,684.60
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 36,119.92 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 16,081.89 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 2,829.70 (close)
New York - Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 38,521.36 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0769 from $1.0758 on Tuesday
Dollar/yen: UP at 148.02 yen from 147.91 yen
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2634 from $1.2600
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.26 pence from 85.36 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.9 percent at $79.32 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $73.77 per barrel
burs-bcp/rfj/lth
S.F.Warren--AMWN