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- Canada to further cut international student, foreign worker permits
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- Hong Kong democracy tycoon's son warns time running out
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- Brewers clinch division title as MLB playoff race heats up
- Man City blunted by 'giant' Inter in Champions League stalemate
- US stocks dip despite larger Fed interest rate cut
- Man City held by Inter as PSG pinch win in Champions League
- All Blacks recall Beauden Barrett for Australia Test
- Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill 20, wound 450
- Spurs late show saves Postecoglou blushes at Coventry
- PSG snatch late goal to beat Champions League debutants Girona
- Gittens' late double gives Dortmund Champions League win at Brugge
- Man City blunted by Inter in Champions League stalemate
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- Gauff splits with Gilbert as coach after 14-month run
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- Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to new sex crime charge
- Venezuelan opposition candidate says letter conceding election was coerced
- Ukraine official claims Russian advance in Kursk has been 'stopped'
- X update allows app to bypass Brazil ban: internet providers
- Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill 14, wound 450
- US Fed makes aggressive rate cut, weeks before election
- Arsenal's Odegaard faces lengthy injury absence
- India coal expansion risks massive methane growth: report
- China the top challenge in US history, top diplomat says
- US Fed makes larger half-point cut in first reduction since 2020
- Ronaldo's Al Nassr appoint former AC Milan boss Pioli
- Ainslie 'relieved' as British book place in Louis Vuitton Cup final
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- Women's NBA will add 15th team in Portland in 2026
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- Boeing to start large temporary furloughs amid Seattle strike
- Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill nine, wound 300
- 'Emergency' declared over falling UK butterfly numbers
- McIlroy outlines threats to golf peace deal
- Stock markets, dollar slip before US rate decision
- Russian advance in Kursk 'stopped': Ukraine official to AFP
- UN members demand end to 'unlawful' Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories
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- Three dead, 100 wounded in new wave of Lebanon device explosions
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- Allied war heroes buried in Netherlands... 80 years on
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Stock markets rise, gold hits record high as US rate cut nears
US and European stock markets extended gains, gold hit a record high and the dollar fell on Friday ahead of an expected US interest-rate cut next week.
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.
Wall Street shares were up near midday deals while European markets closed in the green, a day after the European Central Bank 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 0.3 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 labour 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 economy could be heading towards recession.
Analysts said the odds of a 50-basis-point increase 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 XTB trading platform.
- Key figures around 1540 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.9 percent at 41,476.92 points
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.6 percent at 5,627.87
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 17,675.48
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 $1.1085 from $1.1078 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3138 from $1.3126
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 140.53 yen from 141.78 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 84.37 pence from 84.36 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $72.34 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $69.37 per barrel
I.Meyer--BTB