- 'Happy' Mbappe strikes on Madrid Champions League debut win over Stuttgart
- Man Utd hit Barnsley for seven in League Cup rout
- Dolphins quarterback Tagovailoa facing concussion layoff
- Stylish Liverpool strut past Milan in confident Champions league opener
- Kane scores four as Bayern put nine past Zagreb in the Champions League
- Mbappe strikes on Madrid Champions League debut win over Stuttgart
- More than 3,600 food packaging chemicals found in human bodies
- Harris calls Trump as assassination scare sparks tensions
- Dow edges down from record as some eye a smaller Fed rate cut
- Sommer vows Inter will 'defend with all we have' to stop Haaland
- Report links meatpacking companies to 'war on nature' in Brazil
- Bolivian ex-leader Morales, backers set out on weeklong protest march
- Smith grateful to McCullum for launching his England career
- Arizona to ask court to rule on voting rights
- Villa make perfect start on Champions League return after 41-year absence
- Israeli supply chain infiltration likely behind Hezbollah pager blasts: analysts
- Rodgers backs Celtic to be 'really competitive' in Champions League
- Spacewalk an 'emotional experience' for private astronauts
- Storm Boris toll rises to 22 in central Europe
- Nine dead, 2,800 wounded as Lebanon's Hezbollah hit by pager blasts
- Boeing, union resume talks as strike empties Seattle plants
- Over 3,600 food packaging chemicals found in human bodies
- Australia's Zampa accepts Ashes chances remote as 100th ODI looms
- UN General Assembly debates call for end to Israeli occupation
- Marseille complete signing of French international Rabiot
- Easterby to fill in as Ireland coach while Farrell is with the Lions
- Hezbollah in Lebanon hit by wave of deadly pager blasts
- Postecoglou taken aback by criticism of his second season success claim
- US, European stocks rise on retail sales, rate cut expectations
- Fendi sees Roaring 20s at Milan Fashion Week in challenging times
- Ronaldo's Al Nassr part ways with coach Castro
- Scottish government backs Glasgow to stage troubled 2026 Commonwealth Games
- Storm Boris toll rises to 21 in central Europe
- Instagram, under pressure, tightens protection for teens
- Inflation slows again in Canada to 2%
- US, European stocks rise on eve of Fed rate decision
- EU bans Algerian spread toasted on social media
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs charged with racketeering, sex trafficking
- Trump returns to campaign trail after assassination scare
- Activist urges repatriation of Native Americans dead in Paris 'human zoo'
- US retail sales see slight rise, beating expectations
- US Fed begins two-day meeting set to end with rate cut
- Exploding Hezbollah pagers wound hundreds across Lebanon
- Runners-up Yokohama thrashed 7-3 in AFC Champions League goal fest
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs to plead not guilty to racketeering, sex trafficking
- Jihadist group claims rare attack on Mali capital
- 'I am a rapist,' Frenchman tells trial over mass rape of wife
- Electric cars overtake petrol models in Norway
- 'Shouted his name': Channel tragedy survivor hopes friend made it
- Portugal battles ferocious wildfires as toll rises to seven
Stocks rally on cooler US inflation, before ECB rate call
Europe's main stock markets rallied Thursday following some strong gains in Asia and on Wall Street thanks to big uplifts for tech shares after data showed US inflation cooling further.
Investors were awaiting an expected cut in eurozone interest rates from the European Central Bank later in the day, ahead of a reduction from the US Federal Reserve next week as consumer-price rises return to relatively normal levels.
"Today sees traders turn their attention to European affairs, with the ECB expected to cut rates for just the second time in five-years," noted Joshua Mahony, analyst at traders Scope Markets.
"With markets essentially viewing a 25-basis point cut as a foregone conclusion, much of the day's focus will be on the outlook for the pace of easing going forward."
The euro steadied against the dollar ahead of the decision.
A US inflation reading Wednesday allowed investors to breathe a sigh of relief after a tough couple of weeks that have been filled with worries about the world's top economy, as a weak run of jobs figures stoked recession fears.
The Nasdaq closed up more than two percent Wednesday and the S&P 500 more than one percent.
The rally was fuelled by a big jump in the tech sector, with chip titan Nvidia rocketing more than eight percent.
And the positive mood flowed through to Asia, where Tokyo led gainers and jumped more than three percent after seven days of losses.
London, Paris and Frankfurt gained around one percent approaching the half-way mark in European trade.
The Fed is yet to cut borrowing costs after central banks around the world hiked aggressively when inflation soared as nations emerged from Covid lockdowns and following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
This is in contrast to the European Central Bank, which on Thursday is widely expected to reduce eurozone interest rates for a second time in three months.
In the US, bets are surging on a 25-basis-point reduction, with talk of a 50-point shift muted by figures showing that core inflation on the consumer price index had seen an unexpected uptick.
A report on US wholesale prices due Thursday could provide more insight into the Fed's thinking.
Wednesday's "stronger than expected core CPI for August will no doubt weaken the case for a 50 basis point cut", Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Carol Kong told AFP.
"The inflation and labour market data are in line with a soft landing scenario in the US economy, rather than a recession. As such, we stick to our call for a 25 basis point cut next week."
- Key figures around 1045 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 8,260.43 points
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 7,462.28
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.2 percent at 18,55797
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 3.4 percent at 36,833.27 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 17,240.39 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 2,717.12 (close)
New York - Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 40,861.71 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1021 from $1.1018 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3053 from $1.3046
Euro/pound: UNCHANGED at 84.43 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 142.71 yen from 142.38 yen
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.6 percent at $71.74 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.6 percent at $68.37 per barrel
G.Stevens--AMWN