- Hurricane Milton leaves at least 16 dead as Florida cleans up
- Britain face 'ultimate challenge' in America's Cup duel with New Zealand
- Lebanon calls for 'immediate' ceasefire in Israel-Hezbollah war
- Nihon Hidankyo: Japan's A-bomb survivors awarded Nobel
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Boat captain rescued clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico after storm Milton
- Tears, warnings after Japan atomic survivors group win Nobel
- 'Unspeakable horror': the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- Christian villagers 'trapped' in south Lebanon crossfire
- Sabalenka sets up Gauff showdown in Wuhan semis
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Kim Sei-young holds lead with late birdies at LPGA Shanghai
- Toulouse welcome Dupont 'boost' as Olympic star returns to Top 14
- Japanese atomic bomb survivor group Nihon Hidankyo wins Nobel Peace Prize
- Deadly Israeli strike on Beirut likely targeted Hezbollah security chief
- Bangladesh Islamist chief backs crimes against humanity trial for ex-PM
- Everest climber's remains believed found after 100 years
- 20 Pakistan coal miners shot dead in attack
- Clashes on South China Sea, Ukraine dominate Asia summit
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Zelensky meets Pope, Scholz as whirlwind Europe tour ends
- Hello Hallyu: why is South Korean culture sweeping the globe?
- UK economy rebounds in August in boost to new govt
- Voice of Japan's beloved robot cat 'Doraemon' dies
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- 20 Pakistan coal miners shot dead in attack: police
- Blinken condemns China's 'increasingly dangerous' sea moves
- Toyota returns to Formula One as Haas partner
- EU chief says China must 'adapt its behaviour' to solve trade row
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- Lynx rally, stun Liberty in overtime in WNBA Finals opener
- Pogacar hunting 'perfect' season finale with Coppi's Il Lombardia record
- 'Soul of old Baghdad': city centre sees timid revival
- Kittle at the double as Niners hold off Seahawks
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Yankees advance in MLB playoffs as Guardians stay alive
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- Kamada says Japan can close in on World Cup place against Australia
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- Renewables revolt in Sardinia, Italy's coal-fired island
- Argentina held, Brazil leave it late in 2026 World Cup qualifiers
- Obama blasts 'crazy' Trump in first rally for Harris
- 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, a plea in favour of world order?
- Fry homers as Guardians down Tigers to stay alive in MLB playoffs
- Japan PM presses China's Li on airspace intrusion
- In Trump 'Truths,' conspiracies, attacks -- and doubts about the election
European stocks advance and bitcoin hits record high
European stock markets advanced on Wednesday, with Frankfurt setting a new record, while Wall Street struggled to hold onto gains made despite a less-than-stellar inflation report.
Meanwhile, bitcoin struck a fresh record above $73,000before giving up much of its gains.
Even though inflation rose faster than expected in Tuesday's latest US consumer prices report, it wasn't enough to change investors' outlook that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in June.
"As far as forecasts for the path and timing of Federal Reserve rate cuts are concerned, nothing really changed," said David Morrison, analyst at Trade Nation.
"The probability of no change at next week’s (Fed) meeting is now 99 percent, while there’s now a 58 percent likelihood of a 25 basis point cut at the June meeting."
After rising to record levels yesterday, the Dow was up slightly and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite down slightly Wednesday, indicating that markets for the moment have largely priced in a June cut in interest rates.
European markets opened higher Wednesday as they played catch-up with New York's rise the previous day.
Frankfurt briefly struck an all-time pinnacle above 18,000 points as speculation mounted that the European Central Bank could join the Fed and lower borrowing costs in June.
"It looks like traders are still hanging onto Powell's less than hawkish vibe, which has everyone thinking about potential rate cuts in June and keeping the market response in check," said Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at FOREX.com.
Thursday will see the release of US retail sales and producer prices data, before the Fed's policy-making council meets next week.
London was higher as official data showed the UK economy expanded 0.2 percent in January after a moderate contraction in December.
"There is growing evidence that the UK is emerging from its technical recession, although it’s hard to say that the economy is bouncing back," said Kathleen Brooks, an analyst at XTB.com. .
Bitcoin surged to a new high of $73,664 to extend its blistering run, propelled partly by global moves to increase trading access to the world's biggest cryptocurrency.
Hong Kong dipped after a three-day rally, while Tokyo was weighed down by talk that the Bank of Japan could next week begin shifting away from its ultra-loose monetary policy.
- Key figures around 1145 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 39,071.02 points
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 5,167.89
New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 39,058.57
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,777.07
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 8,147.66
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 17,975.56
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.5 percent at 5,008.72
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 38,695.97 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 17,082.11 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,043.83 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0942 from $1.0930 on Tuesday
Dollar/yen: UP at 147.85 yen from 147.67 yen
Pound/dollar: FLAT at $1.2795
Euro/pound: UP at 85.51 pence from 85.41 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.9 percent at $82.50 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.2 percent at $79.25 per barrel
burs-gv/rl
T.Ward--AMWN