- In hurricane-hit N.Carolina, voters find a way to cast ballots
- Yankee fans who interfered with Betts grab barred for game five
- Spain races to save victims as floods kill 95
- Lebanon hospital's burns unit bears scars of Israel-Hezbollah war
- Migrant dies trying to cross Channel, three more bodies found
- Spain races to save victims as floods kill 73
- Smog-beset Pakistan megacity curbs rickshaws, restaurants
- England captain Stokes's house burgled by masked robbers while family inside
- McDavid will miss 2-3 weeks with ankle injury for NHL Oilers
- Brussels hopes to advance Ukraine, Moldova entry talks in 2025
- Georgia president refuses prosecutors' summons after alleging vote-rigging
- First case of latest mpox variant detected in UK: health authority
- I'll be backing Harris: Schwarzenegger endorses Democratic ticket
- Stocks diverge, bitcoin close to record high
- Harris fends off 'garbage' fallout, Trump pushes 'cheating' claims
- 'Peace among ourselves' crucial to save nature: UN chief
- French court acquits man who killed incurably ill wife
- New Hezbollah chief open to truce with Israel if offer is made
- Brazil trial begins over murder of iconic activist Franco
- Russia eats away at territory, and Ukrainian morale
- Trump's election fraud claims raise alarms of 2020 repeat
- Spain races to save victims as floods kill 72
- UK's Labour govt hikes taxes in first budget
- Medvedev loses to Australian Popyrin at Paris Masters
- Germany dodges recession but inflation rises sharply
- Harris seeks distance from Biden 'garbage' comments
- Spain races to save victims as floods kill 64
- Riyadh Air orders 60 Airbus planes
- US economic growth solid despite slight slowdown as election nears
- Eurozone economy grows more than expected
- UBS smashes forecasts with $1.4 bn net profit
- Chinese EV giant BYD beats Tesla in quarterly revenue for first time
- US economic growth solid but below expectations as election nears
- Jurgen Klopp to target player welfare in Red Bull role
- Volkswagen sees 'painful' cost cuts ahead as profit plunges
- Spain races to save victims as floods kill 62
- Tuberculosis cases hit record high: WHO
- Bangladesh stumble to 38-4 in reply to mammoth South Africa total
- Volcanoes 'hidden source' of CO2 in past climate change: study
- Stocks falter, bitcoin close to record high
- Eurozone economy grows faster than expected
- Mediators to propose Gaza truce amid deadly Israeli strikes
- China's Hisense first sponsor of new Club World Cup
- Georgia prosecutors probe alleged election 'falsification'
- New Zealand's Ajaz 'emotional' on Mumbai return after perfect 10
- Germany dodges recession, posts surprise growth on spending boost
- Trump, Harris in frantic campaign push as US election nears
- De Zorzi out for 177 as S. Africa power to 527-6 against Bangladesh
- Worries for Japan economy after election shock
- Israel short on soldiers after year of war
RBGPF | -3.28% | 61 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.24% | 24.63 | $ | |
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RIO | -1.07% | 65.875 | $ | |
GSK | -3.27% | 36.96 | $ | |
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BCE | -0.89% | 32.175 | $ | |
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RYCEF | 0.55% | 7.25 | $ |
Stocks diverge, bitcoin close to record high
Stock markets diverged Wednesday as they digested a mixed bag of economic data and corporate reports, while bitcoin traded close to its record high with eyes on the upcoming US presidential election.
The three main US stock indexes vacillated throughout the morning, but were all slightly higher in midday trading. Major European markets all closed sharply lower.
Google-parent Alphabet was up almost six percent in New York after reporting positive results after Tuesday's close, but that was outweighed by disappointing results and guidance from tech company AMD, down more than nine percent, and drugmaker Eli Lilly, down more than seven percent.
Microsoft and Facebook-parent Meta report later Wednesday.
On the economic front, the US economy grew at a healthy 2.8 percent annual rate in the third quarter, even if it undershot analyst expectations and slowed slightly from the previous quarter.
"While the initial Q3 GDP report missed economists’ expectations, the miss was minor and reaffirms that the US economy remains on solid footing," according to eToro analyst Bret Kenwell.
On Thursday, the Federal Reserve's favourite inflation measure will be released, while the monthly labour jobs report comes Friday.
In the eurozone, Paris and Frankfurt closed down more than one percent.
"Investors are in no mood to increase their exposure to equity markets, given the lack of a clear lead from the US where consolidation seems to be the order of the day," said David Morrison, analyst at Trade Nation.
The eurozone economy grew a better-than-expected 0.4 percent in the third quarter, the bloc reported Wednesday. But the spurt was largely due to one-off factors such as the Olympics, and next quarter's report may not be so rosy, said Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at City Index.
"Recent forward-looking surveys have been far from great, suggesting that the eurozone economy remained sluggish at the start of Q4," he said.
Outside the eurozone, London's stock market dropped, though less than Paris and Frankfurt, as the UK's new Labour government said it would raise taxes by 40 billion pounds and that the deficit will shrink next year.
UBS shares slumped more than 4 percent after the Swiss bank highlighted a gloomy economic outlook despite making healthy profits in the third quarter.
Asia's top indices closed mostly down, while in foreign exchange the dollar was mixed against main rivals.
Bitcoin steadied, a day after striking just shy of its all-time peak of $73,797.98 achieved in March.
A recent surge in the price of bitcoin is seen as a bet on a Republican victory in next week's US vote, as Donald Trump has emerged as the pro-crypto candidate.
The outcome at the polls remains uncertain for many analysts, however, helping haven investment gold to a fresh record high of $2,789.86 an ounce Wednesday. The economic programmes of both candidates are expected to add greatly to the US debt load.
Oil prices rebounded after a surprise decline in US petroleum reserves, even though concerns persist about whether there will be enough takers for an expected increase in global crude production next year.
"It seems as if oil prices are ignoring improving economic data in the US and stimulus efforts from China to revive its struggling economy," said Daniela Sabin Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.
- Key figures around 1640 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 42,387.77 points
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 5,842.54
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 18,734.64
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.7 percent at 8,159.63 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.1 percent at 7,428.36 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.1 at 19,257.34 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 39,277.39 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.6 percent at 20,380.64 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,266.24 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0863 from $1.0816 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3006 from $1.3010
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 153.08 yen from 153.57 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 83.53 pence from 83.13 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.3 percent at $72.77 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.5 percent at $68.90 per barrel
P.Stevenson--AMWN