- 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
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
Stock markets diverge as investors track earnings
Wall Street's broad-based S&P 500 broke the 5,000-point mark on Friday but global stock markets fluctuated as traders digested another series of company results and revisions to US inflation data.
The Dow fell at the open but the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced and the S&P 500 jumped above 5,000 points, which it had briefly touched the day before.
"The fourth quarter earnings season is proving to be a positive factor for investors," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at financial services provider Trade Nation.
"Absenting a few shockers, the majority of corporations have beaten expectations for both earnings and revenues, even though those expectations were fairly low to begin with," he added.
US equities have marched higher as strong earnings along with data showing resilience in the world's number one economy helped overcome Federal Reserve warnings that interest rates will not come down as early as hoped.
"Investors have taken encouragement from hearing large dollops of positive guidance from company executives for the year ahead," Morrison said.
Figures released Thursday showing below-expectation US jobless claims reinforced the view that the labour market remains in good health despite interest rates sitting at two-decade highs, but gave the central bank room to hold borrowing costs where they are for longer.
The Fed hiked rates to a two-decade high last year in efforts to tame inflation.
Consumer price index report on Friday showed a downward revision in December to 0.2 percent on a monthly basis from 0.3 percent previously. Traders now turn their attention to the January CPI next week.
Among individual stocks, Expedia shares dropped almost 20 percent as it reported lower earnings compared with the year-ago period.
PepsiCo fell almost four percent after the snacks and soft drinks company reported a drop in fourth-quarter sales.
Major tech stocks were mostly higher on the back of largely positive earnings reports this week.
European stock markets were in the red in afternoon deals.
French luxury giant Hermes bucked the trend, its shares rising almost five percent after posting record annual sales and net profit.
The gains propelled the group above L'Oreal as France's second biggest company in terms of market value as the cosmetics company's stock price fell almost seven percent after it posted lower-than-expected results for the fourth quarter.
- Key figures around 1550 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 38,677.50 points
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.1 percent at 5,005.02
New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.4 percent at 15,856.20
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,587.29
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,642.15
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.2 percent at 16,922.95
EURO STOXX 50: FLAT at 4,709.04
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 36,897.42 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.8 percent at 15,746.58 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0785 from $1.0781 on Thursday
Dollar/yen: UP at 149.31 yen from 149.30 yen
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2636 from $1.2620
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.35 pence from 85.40 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.3 percent at $77.21 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.9 percent at $82.37 per barrel
burs-lth/
L.Davis--AMWN