- At least 10 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Far from eye, Hurricane Milton's deadly tornados rampaged Florida
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Argentina held, Bolivia stun Colombia in 2026 qualifiers
- Socceroos have 'nothing to fear' from Japan
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex trafficking trial set for May 2025
- Bolivia stun Colombia in World Cup qualifiers
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Greece earn late win against England in Nations League, Italy-Belgium stalemate
- Trump biopic 'The Apprentice' hits US theaters weeks before election
- Pavlidis dedicates 'special' Greece win over England to tragic Baldock
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- 'Like a quake': Beirut shaken after deadliest strikes on centre
- Fallen giants Ghana in AFCON trouble after Sudan draw
- Asian leaders meet in Laos with US, Russia on world turmoil
- England gamble backfires as Pavlidis fires emotional Greece to victory
- Obama stumps for Harris, Trump talks US protectionism
- New-look France ease past Israel in Nations League
- Belgium fight back to draw with 10-man Italy in Nations League
- 'Get a life': Hurricane whips up US election storm
- Japan stay perfect in World Cup qualifying
- Relief as Lebanon evacuees dock in Turkey
- Lebanon says 22 dead in Israeli strikes on central Beirut
- NBA boss Silver sees games back in China 'at some point'
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Table tennis and Netflix push Ukraine teen into French Open contention
- Civilians flee Gaza's Jabalia in tightening Israeli siege
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 18
- At least 10 dead in Florida from tornadoes caused by Hurricane Milton
- Warhol's rare 'Queen' collection opens at Dutch museum
- Three-time NBA champion Green retires
- MLB Twins up for sale after 40 years
- S.Sudan floods affect 893,000, over 241,000 displaced: UN
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Windies sweat on injury to 'crucial' Taylor at World Cup
- Lebanon says 11 dead, 48 injured in Israeli strikes on Beirut
- Panama lashes out at EU over tax haven 'outrage'
- Erdogan says Gaza 'shame of humanity', calls for permanent ceasfire
- TD Bank to pay more than $3 bn to US in money-laundering case
- SAfrica prosecutors drop criminal complaint against president
- 'Good opportunity': Nagelsmann upbeat despite Germany's long injury list
- Hurricane whips up bitter US election battle
- Cameroon bans media talk of president's health amid rumours
- NFL MVP Jackson and rookie phenom Daniels set for showdown
- Chad's capital under threat as floodwaters rise
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit central Beirut
- No answers on strike on reporters in Lebanon one year on: watchdog
- Ramharack picks four wickets as Windies beat Bangladesh in Women's T20 World Cup
- France's City of Light switches to climate-resilient power cables
- Djokovic hails Nadal 'legacy' as Alcaraz in 'shock' over retirement
Pound climbs after Labour election win
The pound advanced Friday after Britain's centre-left Labour Party clinched an expected landslide election victory to end 14 years of right-wing Conservative rule.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index gave up early gains following news that Keir Starmer will become Britain's new prime minister after Labour trounced Rishi Sunak's Conservatives as Wall Street opened flat following stronger-than-expected data on the US jobs market.
Labour's widely-forecast triumph has sparked investor hope of economic stability amid easing inflation, although Starmer faces tough challenges in the form of strained public finances, a stretched state health service and flagging economic growth.
Frankfurt and Paris stocks climbed Friday with eurozone investors on tenterhooks before France's crucial legislative vote this weekend.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading firm XTB, said that once Labour takes power "focus will quickly shift to political issues elsewhere."
"The second round of French elections take place on Sunday. Financial markets in France are calm ahead of the vote," she added.
In France, tactical voting efforts to block the far-right from taking over the government have partly bolstered eurozone markets.
But analysts remain wary that the second-biggest economy in the European Union could be headed for a period of political deadlock if there is no overall winner on Sunday.
"After some of the left and centrist candidates pulled out from the elections, the most likely scenario is a hung parliament," noted research consultancy Oxford Economics.
"France will likely enter a period of uncertainty. This would result in policy paralysis, delaying fiscal consolidation and preventing any meaningful reforms until the next presidential election."
- US jobs data -
Investor sentiment had been given a boost Thursday as softer US labour market data gave the Federal Reserve room to cut interest rates.
Data out Friday showed US job gains eased slightly in June while unemployment edged up, government data showed, in the latest sign that the world's biggest economy is cooling as policymakers hope.
The country added 206,000 jobs last month, said the Labor Department, marking a slower pace of hiring than May's revised 218,000 figure.
But the gains still beat a Briefing.com consensus estimate of 185,000, signalling that the labour market remains relatively resilient.
Wall Street opened relatively flat, with trading activity fairly low as many investors make a long weekend after markets were closed Thursday for the July 4 Independence Day holiday in the United States.
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said, "The key takeaway from the report is that labour market conditions are softening, which will provide the Fed some cover to cut rates in September if it so chooses."
He noted market expectations of a rate cut in September rose slightly, while bond yields cooled.
Asian stock markets closed mostly lower Friday, a day after Tokyo's indexes hit record highs.
The yen recovered further against the dollar after this week striking the lowest level in nearly four decades.
- Key figures around 1330 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 39,264.20 points
New York - S&P 500: FLAT at 5,538.88
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 18,210.93
London - FTSE 100: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 8,234.48
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,713.14
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 18,581.92
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3 percent at 5,004.01
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT percent at 40,912.37 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.0 percent at 17,799.61 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 2,949.93 (close)
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2808 from $1.2765 on Thursday
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.56 pence from 84.69 pence
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0829 from $1.0813
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 160.92 yen from 161.16 yen
West Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $83.88 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.1 percent at $87.38 per barrel
burs-rl/giv
L.Harper--AMWN