- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
CMSC | -0.2% | 24.65 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
BTI | -0.13% | 35.245 | $ | |
SCS | -0.89% | 12.855 | $ | |
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
NGG | -1.42% | 65.57 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
RIO | -0.23% | 69.54 | $ | |
AZN | -0.4% | 77.165 | $ | |
GSK | 0.05% | 38.84 | $ | |
BCC | 0.61% | 139.755 | $ | |
JRI | -0.24% | 13.248 | $ | |
BP | 0.74% | 33.125 | $ | |
VOD | 0.26% | 9.685 | $ | |
RELX | -0.55% | 46.035 | $ | |
BCE | -0.42% | 33.57 | $ |
Markets struggle but limit losses
Stock markets slipped on Wednesday as tech firms fought to limit recent losses while disappointing data on US trade also hit sentiment.
Major European markets ended in the red as Wall Street fought to hold the line after sharp falls Tuesday, notably for big tech players.
After early renewed wobbles chip titan Nvidia, which notably shed almost $280 billion of value Tuesday on fears the surge in artificial intelligence-linked firms may have run too far, limited losses after losing three percent in early trading.
Nvidia pushed more than 1 percent into the green mid-session on Wall Street despite a Bloomberg report that it has been subpoenaed by US antitrust regulators as part of a probe into its practices.
London, Paris and Frankfurt all finished modestly down while the Dow was just into positive territory just over two hours into trading, while the Nasdaq limited its losses to 0.1 percent.
Wall Street was digesting a fall in the number of vacancies at US companies has fallen, underpinning concerns economic growth is fading.
Another factor taking sentiment down was data showing that the US trade deficit expanded to $78.8 billion in July, the largest since mid-2022.
The dollar also lost ground, as the euro rose 0.35 percent against the greenback to $1.1082, and also against the pound, which gained 0.27 percent to $1.3150. More sharply, it also fell 0.83% against the Japanese currency, to 144.28 yen to the dollar.
Oil prices also dipped on fears global demand will remain weak.
In Asia, Japan saw a slew of session losers as Advantest plunged 7.7 percent and Tokyo Electron fell more than eight percent, while Sony lost three percent.
TSMC shed more than five percent in Taipei, with SK hynix dumping eight percent in Seoul and Samsung off more than three percent.
Tokyo and Taipei each dived more than four percent overall, while Seoul was 3.2 percent lower.
Elsewhere, oil prices rebounded but then fell back slightly after Tuesday's heavy selling sparked by demand worries linked to a weak Chinese economy and questions over the US outlook. OPEC's consideration of output hikes added to the pain, analysts said.
Worries about the US economy burst back onto the scene after figures showed a marginal improvement in factory activity in August, but it still remained in contraction for a fifth successive month.
The figures come days before a closely watched report on non-farm payrolls, which could have a big impact on Federal Reserve officials' decision-making going into next week's policy meeting.
The bank is expected to cut interest rates but investors are uncertain how big it will be, with most tipping a reduction of 25 basis points, though a below-forecast reading is seen boosting the chances of a 50-point move.
- Key figures around 1745 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 41,001.12 points
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 8,229.60 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.0 percent at 7,500.97 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.8 percent at 18,591.85 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.4 percent at 4,846.36
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 4.2 percent at 37,047.61 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 17,457.34 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 2,784.28 (close)
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.29 yen from 145.46 yen on Tuesday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1079 from $1.1047
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3143 from $1.3111
Euro/pound: UP at 84.31 pence from 84.17 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $73.36 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.6 percent at $69.93 per barrel
P.Costa--AMWN