- Harris, Trump head west in US election race countdown
- Amorim promises 'clarification' on Man Utd manager's job on Friday
- Macron to speak inside Notre Dame for cathedral reopening: archbishop
- Man Utd target Amorim says no decision before Friday
- US Fed's favored inflation gauge cools in September
- Global stocks slide on US election, tech worries
- All Blacks coach Robertson defends haka after jibe from England's Marler
- French PM Barnier 'doing well' after operation
- Two children among three dead in Ukraine airstrike
- Spain urges flood-stricken residents to stay home during rescue
- Nepal's day of the dog as part of Hindu celebrations
- Not enough time in universe for monkeys to pen Shakespeare: study
- South Africa sweep Bangladesh series with crushing innings victory
- All Blacks recall big guns for England clash
- Musk to appear in court as part of Trump campaign suit
- Spain urges hard-hit regions to stay home during flood rescue
- Sales slump 27% at carmaker Stellantis
- Global stocks decline after weak Wall Street lead
- French PhD student held in Tunisia: supervisor
- Yao Ming quits after seven years as head of Chinese basketball
- US envoys in Israel to seek Lebanon truce plan
- EU probes shopping app Temu over illegal products
- Spain mourns after historic floods kill 95
- New doubt over production cuts in plastic pollution treaty
- Top MotoGP riders want Valencia race moved after deadly floods
- Yao Ming quits as head of China's basketball association
- Eurozone inflation rebounds more than expected in October
- Man Utd set to announce Amorim as new manager
- Kong-rey among biggest typhoons to hit Taiwan in decades
- Hong Kong economic growth misses forecast in third quarter: data
- Bangladesh 43-4 and facing innings defeat after S. Africa onslaught
- Snow forecast next week on Mt Fuji, at last
- Faker: eSports legend and South Korea 'national treasure'
- Bangladesh forced to follow on after five-star Rabada strikes
- Sho-time! Japan fans ecstatic as Ohtani becomes World Series champ
- 90 Rohingya left 'stranded' on Indonesia beach
- Asian stocks mostly down after weak Wall Street lead
- As US election rhetoric heats up, illegal border crossings fall
- Snooker legend Ronnie O'Sullivan granted residency in Hong Kong
- 'We'll survive': Ukrainians on front brace for hard winter
- Lips, teeth and breasts: Albania cashes in on medical tourism
- Bangladesh 137-8 at lunch, trail by 438, as five-star Rabada strikes
- Iannone to race at Malaysian MotoGP after four-year doping ban
- Russia stirs up anti-LGBTQ prejudice in Moldova 'information war'
- Super Typhoon Kong-rey makes landfall in Taiwan
- Germany to bury nuclear waste but toxic dispute unresolved
- All eyes on US TV networks for 'high stakes' election night
- Bank of Japan warns of 'high uncertainties' after election
- World Series MVP Freeman 'ecstatic' after Dodgers triumph
- Australian rising golf star loses sight in eye after freak accident
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Global stocks decline after weak Wall Street lead
European and Asian stocks were mostly down Thursday following a weak lead from Wall Street, as investors digested mixed company earnings and remained risk-adverse ahead of a coin-toss US election.
Investors will also be eyeing US personal consumption expenditures data -- the Federal Reserve's prefered inflation measure -- released later in the day for signals about the pace of future interest-rate cuts.
The three main US stock indices lost ground on Wednesday, with shares in Microsoft and Facebook-parent Meta dropping in after-hours trading.
Despite both tech giants delivering upbeat results, investors "baulked at the expectation of increased AI spending", said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.
Analyst said that tech losses, including losses for the semiconductor industry, also led declines in European indices.
Frankfurt retreated 0.5 percent and Paris lost 0.9, as official data showed the eurozone's annual inflation rebounded more than expected in October due to rising food costs.
Shares in French bank Societe General jumped over eight percent after it reported better-than-expected results.
Meanwhile its rival BNP Paribas saw its shares slump around six percent after results fell short of expectations.
London shed 0.8 percent after the new centre-left government unveiled major tax hikes, mainly targeted at businesses, in its maiden budget.
"This was one of the largest increases in tax, spending and borrowing in the UK’s budget history", said Kathleen Brooks, research director at traders XTB.
"For a government that planned to boost growth, they have fallen spectacularly at the first hurdle," she added.
Tokyo fell by half a percent, weighed down by a stronger yen and a drop in stocks linked to the semiconductor industry, which also dipped on Wall Street.
The Bank of Japan decided to leave its main interest rate unchanged, saying in an outlook report that there were "high uncertainties surrounding Japan's economic activities and prices".
Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management attributed Asian markets' wobble to pre-vote "jitters", saying traders were "wary of taking on new risk as the US election countdown begins".
Mainland Chinese markets, however, made healthy gains following a forecast-beating manufacturing report -- in a piece of rare good news for leaders struggling to boost activity in the world's second-largest economy.
Uncertainty over the outcome of the upcoming US elections, meanwhile, buoyed safe haven gold, which touched a fresh high of $2,790.10 an ounce on Thursday.
Oil prices continued their rebound, fuelled by good news on demand from the United States, as well as by press reports that OPEC countries are considering postponing an increase in crude supply.
- Key figures around 1110 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.8 percent at 8,093.07 points
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.9 percent at 7,359.92
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 19,159.72
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.5 percent at 39,081.25 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 20,317.33 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,279.82 (close)
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 42,141.54 points (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0865 from $1.0861 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2986 from $1.2969
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.69 yen from 153.35 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.64 from 83.75 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $72.52 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $68.94 per barrel
Ch.Kahalev--AMWN