- 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
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
Global stocks mostly rise as markets eye likely Fed rate cut
Wall Street stocks concluded a positive week with another upbeat session Friday, while European equities also advanced following a European Central Bank interest rate cut.
More data this week suggesting the Federal Reserve was winning the battle against inflation provided an extra kick for global equities after recent drops caused by worries of a possible US recession.
All three major US indices finished solidly higher, with the broad-based S&P 500 ending at 5,626.02, up 0.5 percent for the day and more than four percent for the week.
"There were no negative surprises," said CFRA Research's Sam Stovall. "The market has continued to creep back up to the all time high level."
Earlier, European markets closed in the green, a day after the ECB cut its own rates for the second time this year as inflation cools.
Asia's main stock markets diverged as they closed out the week.
The price of gold struck an all-time high of $2,583.45 per ounce, as lower interest rates tend to prop up the precious metal.
Among individual companies, Boeing shares fell 3.7 percent after Seattle region workers overwhelmingly rejected a four-year contract proposal, launching a strike that will shutter two major factories.
Investors are focused on the highly anticipated Fed meeting on Wednesday after data this week showed US consumer inflation slowed more than expected in August to 2.5 percent.
Having slashed rates in the early months of the pandemic, the Fed began hiking them in 2022 as inflation started to take hold, and they kept lifting until rates hit a two-decade high.
Now, with disinflation seemingly kicking in and the labor market softening, decision-makers are tipped to start cutting again, with debate on whether it will be a 25- or 50-basis-point move.
"Fears that the Federal Reserve may have kept interest rates too high for too long, thereby risking an economic 'hard landing' have dissipated," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at financial services provider Trade Nation.
Markets had panicked last month after weak US jobs figures raised concerns that the world's largest economy could be heading towards recession.
Analysts said the odds of a 50-basis-point cut have risen this week.
"Gold is the ultimate inflation hedge, so it has received a boost from prospects of a 50bp rate cut from the Fed," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at the XTB trading platform.
- Key figures around 2130 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 41,393.78 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 5,626.02 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 17,683.98 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 8,273.09 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 7,465.25 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.0 percent at 18,699.40 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 36,581.76 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 17,369.09 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 2,704.09 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1079 from $1.1074 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3125 from $1.3124
Dollar/yen: UP at 140.76 yen from 140.73 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 84.40 pence from 84.37 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $71.61 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $71.61 per barrel
F.Dubois--AMWN