- Harris, Trump and Biden mark Oct. 7 attacks as US election looms
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- US judge orders Google to open Android to rival app stores
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights 'sacred' multi-front war
- Nobel scientist uncovered tiny genetic switches with big potential
- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ |
Global stocks mostly lower ahead of major tech earnings results
Global stock markets closed mostly lower Tuesday ahead of key company earnings, following a strong start to a week dominated by the spellbinding US presidential race.
Wall Street stocks finished a choppy session slightly lower as investors assessed mixed earnings reports, while Europe's main stock markets were mixed after Asia's major indices closed lower.
"It is a mixed picture," LPL Financial's Quincy Krosby told AFP. "And when you are in a slowing environment, you're going to get a mixed picture."
Joe Biden's decision to end his reelection bid and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris had little major impact on sentiment, analysts said.
"Politics could be less of a driver for markets for the rest of the summer now that the Democrats are back in the race," noted Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
Harris and Trump "are known quantities, so whoever wins the race for the White House, the market, in some ways, knows what to expect", she said.
Attention turned to corporate earnings, with Google parent Alphabet and electric carmaker Tesla both reporting results after Wall Street closed on Tuesday.
In its earnings, Tesla reported a sharp drop in second-quarter profits due to the effect of price cuts, while Alphabet beat revenue and profit expectations as its cloud and search ads businesses thrived.
Tesla's shares fell around two percent in after-hours trading Tuesday, while Alphabet climbed more than one percent.
The two American tech titans are part of the "Magnificent Seven" group of firms that have driven a rally that pushed all three main New York indices to fresh records this year, thanks also to expectations that the US Federal Reserve will soon cut borrowing costs.
But the news has been less positive this month, with the Magnificent Seven experiencing "a sharp decline in total return," said market analyst Fawad Razaqzada at City Index and FOREX.com.
In Europe, Swedish music streaming giant Spotify reported a 12 percent increase in subscribers to 246 million in the second quarter, beating estimates, along with a 266-million-euro operating profit. Its shares bounded more than 12 percent higher.
The US central bank's monetary policy is back in focus ahead of Friday's release of personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index data -- the Fed's favoured measure of inflation.
After a small uptick earlier this year, PCE headline inflation ticked lower again in May, raising the chances that the Fed could soon begin cutting interest rates.
- Key figures around 2000 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 40,358.09 points (close)
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 percent at 5,555.74 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 17,997.35 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 8,167.37 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,598.63 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.8 percent at 18,557.70 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.4 percent at 4,916.80 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 39,594.39 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 17,469.36 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.7 percent at 2,915.37 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0855 from $1.0890 on Monday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2907 from $1.2929
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 155.62 yen from 157.08 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.08 pence at 84.20 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.8 percent at $76.96 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.7 percent at $81.01 per barrel
burs-rl/da-tu/mlm
M.A.Colin--AMWN