- Djokovic hails Nadal 'legacy' as Alcaraz in 'shock' over retirement
- Obama hits campaign trail for Harris
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Djokovic tells Nadal: 'Your legacy will live forever'
- Ethel Kennedy, wife of RFK, dead at 96
- Zelensky denies ceasefire with Russia under discussion on trip
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- After long fight for glory, Nadal leaves with a legacy of memories
- Home hopes Zheng and Wang through to last-eight in Wuhan Open
- UN peacekeepers say Israel fired on Lebanon HQ, injuring 2
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Alcaraz out as top players pay tribute to Nadal at Shanghai Masters
- Racing's Farrell 'not thinking' about British and Irish Lions
- Alcaraz, Sinner pay tribute to 'unbelievable' Nadal at Shanghai Masters
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- After K-pop, K-novels? South Korean Nobel win sparks joy, hope at home
- After Nadal exit, Djokovic left to rage against dying of the light
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Triple centurion Brook happy to break Dad's club record
- Zelensky touts 'victory plan' against Russia in Macron talks
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- UN peacekeepers accuses Israel of firing on Lebanon HQ
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- Southgate taking year out from coaching
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- Zelensky meets Macron in Paris as part of European tour
- Hurricane Milton shreds Florida stadium roof
- UN probe accuses Israel of seeking to 'destroy' Gaza healthcare
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- England in sight of victory after Brook's triple hundred
- Juventus readmitted to ECA after failed Super League revolt
- World number 2 Alcaraz knocked out of Shanghai Masters by Machac
- Leaders of Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia meet amid regional tensions
- Klopp's Red Bull decision 'ruined life's work' say Dortmund fans
- Han Kang wins South Korea's first literature Nobel
- S. Korea's Nobel winner Han Kang a modest, thought-provoking writer
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- The almost impossible job: Beating Rafael Nadal at the French Open
- New French government faces key test with budget plan
- Rescuers say Israeli strike on Gaza school kills 28
- Italy's ex-world champion gymnast Ferrari announces retirement
- Zelensky talks 'victory plan' in meeting with Starmer, Rutte
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Federer lauds retiring Nadal's 'incredible achievements'
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Australia beat China 3-1 to resurrect World Cup campaign
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- Nadal defied injury woes in record-breaking career
- Nadal v Djokovic, French Open, 2006: Chapter One in epic rivalry
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
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BCE | -1.54% | 32.805 | $ |
Stocks advance after Powell rekindles rate cut hopes
European and US equities mostly pushed higher on Wednesday, with Wall Street striking fresh records, as comments by US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell rekindled hopes of interest-rate cuts later this year.
At the opening bell, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both advanced to set new intraday record highs. The Dow traded flat.
London, Frankfurt and Paris also rebounded from recent losses sparked by French post-election uncertainty.
Traders shrugged off a mixed Asian showing and awaited further comments from Powell.
The dollar traded mixed.
Although his semi-annual Senate testimony on Tuesday did not indicate when Fed interest-rate cuts may come, analysts are predicting the first in September and a second before year's end.
"Powell placed emphasis on needing 'greater confidence' that inflation was moving back towards target but also acknowledged the risk of leaving interest rates high for too long, pointing to cooling labour market conditions and the risk of unduly weakening economic activity," noted Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter Investors.
"The Fed's preferred measure of inflation, core PCE inflation, now providing a more reassuring message, together with the signs of a cooling economy, (means) that investors' expectations of two rate cuts... are reasonable" by the end of the year.
James stressed however that the US central bank would refrain from any move in rates in November, in order to show impartiality close to a US presidential election.
Powell is set to testify before a House committee Wednesday, and investors will also be eyeing US consumer inflation data due Thursday for further insight that price rises are still easing as hoped.
"Thursday's CPI data could be crucial in determining whether the probability of a September rate cut increases further from the current 70 percent," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.
In Asia on Wednesday, Hong Kong stocks finished in the red after earlier rising more than one percent. Shanghai closed lower, and Sydney, Mumbai and Manila were also down.
But Tokyo stocks advanced with the benchmark Nikkei 225 reaching an all-time high. Seoul was flat, while Taipei, Wellington, Bangkok, Singapore, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur all rose.
- Key figures around 1330 GMT -
New York - Dow: FLAT at 39,278.75 points
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 5,590.57
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 18,516.62
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,183.98
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 7,560.86
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 18,370.22
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.8 percent at 4,940.59
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.6 percent at 41,831.99 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 17,471.67 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 2,939.36 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0825 from $1.0819 at 2040 GMT on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2810 from $1.2790
Dollar/yen: UP at 161.53 yen from 161.29 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.51 pence from 84.56 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $81.27 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $84.41 per barrel
burs-rl/jm
M.Thompson--AMWN