- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
US, European stocks shrug off Nvidia slump to rise on rate hopes
US and European stock markets rose Thursday as investors shrugged off a drop in shares of chip giant Nvidia and turned their attention back to expectations of lower interest rates.
Frankfurt hit a new record, and Paris and London also closed higher.
The main US stock indexes were all up even as Nvidia fell after the tech titan reported earnings that did not meet everyone's sky-high expectations.
After US markets closed on Wednesday, Nvidia said its sales more than doubled to $30 billion in the second quarter, but at a slower pace than in previous quarters, and that profits also doubled, to $16.5 billion.
Nvidia has become a bellwether for the tech sector owing to its huge role in the development of AI chips and its shares have risen more than 150 percent since the start of the year, accounting for a third of the broad-based S&P 500 index's gains.
Despite the impressive earnings, Nvidia's shares initially fell by as much as eight percent in after-hours trading Wednesday as some traders had hoped for even better results, and took advantage to lock in profits from its recent gains.
Nvidia shares were down around three percent at midday in New York on Thursday.
"Investors have become spoiled, expecting Nvidia not just to meet but obliterate expectations," said independent analyst Stephen Innes.
Charles Schwab strategist Joe Mazzola said the wider market shrugged off Nvidia's slump partly because almost all companies reporting earnings recently, including Nvidia, have beat analysts' sales forecasts.
- Back to rates -
Traders are now focused on a raft of economic indicators that could shed light on the possible size of expected rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank next month.
Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell gave markets a boost last week when he declared that the central bank was ready to finally cut borrowing costs, which sit at a 23-year high.
Government figures showed Thursday that the US economy expanded more than initially thought in the second quarter, growing at an annual rate of 3.0 percent, up from 2.8 percent in an earlier estimate.
The GDP report helped to "reassure investors that the economy is not teetering on an economic cliff", said eToro US investment analyst Bret Kenwell.
Despite the revision, "the Fed is unlikely to alter its plans to cut rates at next month's meeting after Chair Powell made it clear that it's time to shift policy toward lower rates," he said.
Other figures Thursday showed US jobless claims fell slightly last week. Investors will next look at the Fed's favoured gauge of inflation on Friday and key jobs data next week.
In Europe, Germany reported the country's inflation rate slowed to 1.9 percent in August, the lowest in more than three years and within the ECB's two-percent target.
With Spain also reporting slower inflation and other eurozone countries expected to do the same, "that paves the way for a September rate cut," said Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist at Capital Economics.
The Frankfurt DAX reached an intra-day record of 18,936 points, and closed up 0.7 percent at 18,912.57 points.
Earlier in Asia, Tokyo closed flat, Hong Kong rose and Shanghai, Taiwan and Seoul fell.
Asian tech shares were among the worst performers in the wake of Nvidia's results, with chipmakers taking a hit.
SK Hynix fell more than five percent in Seoul, where Samsung was also down more than three percent.
Taipei-listed TSMC, a key producer of semiconductors, sank more than two percent.
Oil prices jumped after declining in the past two sessions on renewed concerns over Libyan supplies.
- Key figures around 1540 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 41,391.84 points
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.8 percent at 5,634.87
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 17,750.88
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 8,379.64 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 7,640.95 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 18,912.57 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 38,362.53 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 17,786.32 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 2,823.11 (close)
Dollar/yen: UP at 145.22 yen from 144.50 yen on Wednesday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1078 from $1.1119
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3171 from $1.3194
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.13 pence from 84.27 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.3 percent at $76.26 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.9 percent at $80.12 per barrel
O.Karlsson--AMWN