- Man City's Rodri 'out for season' after ACL injury: reports
- Venezuelan court issues arrest warrant for Argentina's Milei
- Arsenal not yet a match for Man City-Liverpool rivalry, says Silva
- Iran's new president calls Israel warmonger as he seeks talks with West
- Berlin warns UniCredit against Commerzbank takeover attempt
- Black Eyed Peas star harnesses AI for novel radio product
- England cricket captain Knight reprimanded over 'blackface' photo
- Barca goalkeeper Ter Stegen set to miss season after knee operation
- 'I lived a lie', tearful witness tells French mass rape trial
- 274 dead in Israeli strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon
- Gunman revealed Trump plot months before golf course arrest: DOJ
- Trial opens in Italy student murder case that opened eyes to femicide
- Iran president accuses Israel of seeking conflict, says opposes war
- Swedish battery maker Northvolt to slash 1,600 jobs, quarter of staff
- Joshua says boxing career 'far from over' after Dubois defeat
- Stock markets inch higher on rate hopes
- 182 dead in Israeli strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon
- Friedkin Group reach deal to buy Everton
- UniCredit ups stake in Commerzbank to 21 percent
- Big rate cut was 'appropriate' first step: Fed official
- Stock markets diverge as eurozone economy struggles
- Lebanon says 100 dead in Israeli strikes on Hezbollah strongholds
- Man City's Akanji sends defiant title message after Arsenal battle
- Madrid's 'many styles' key to unbeaten streak: Ancelotti
- UK's Labour pledges economic rebuild amid free gifts row
- Barca goalkeeper Ter Stegen to undergo knee operation
- French mass rape trial moves on to new defendants
- Israel warns Lebanese as intense strikes target Hezbollah
- UK's Labour looks to be more cheerful despite gifts and welfare row
- Eurozone business activity slumps after Olympics boost
- Russia, Ukraine cross swords in sea dispute court battle
- Albania plans Sufi Muslim microstate within its borders
- EU launches WTO challenge against China dairy probe
- Murdoch's REA ups offer for property website Rightmove
- India's one-horned rhino numbers charging ahead, govt says
- Rescuers comb muddy riverbanks after Japan floods kill seven
- Asian stocks boosted by US rate cut, China stimulus hope
- Sri Lanka's new leader says no magic solution to crisis
- Israel warns Lebanese as wave of strikes hits Hezbollah
- New Socceroos coach Popovic confident he can rescue World Cup campaign
- 'Put Austrians first': On a pub crawl with far-right voters
- Trial begins in Italy student murder case that opened eyes to femicide
- Family of murdered Sri Lanka editor seek justice from new president
- Austria's far right woos anti-vaxxers with fund for vaccine 'victims'
- Long wait for justice in India's backlogged courts
- Rohingya refugees detail worsening violence in Myanmar
- Rescuers comb muddy riverbanks after Japan floods kill six
- Sri Lankan leftist leader sworn in after landslide election win
- Indonesia, NZ deny Papua rebel claim 'bribe' paid for pilot release
- Swearing, shoeys and swift legs: Singapore GP talking points
Stock markets inch higher on rate hopes
US and European shares nudged higher Monday as investors were torn between hopes of further interest rate cuts and weak eurozone economic data.
Stock markets rallied last week after the US Federal Reserve announced a bumper interest rate cut, its first since 2020, as inflation is cooling.
"Visions of further rate cuts remain a supportive factor," said Patrick O'Hare, an analyst at Briefing.com.
But, he added, "there is some appreciation for the possibility that a market trading with a rich valuation could experience a consolidation period."
This Friday's release of the personal consumption expenditures index, the Fed's preferred inflation metric, could shed light on the next rate move.
European stock markets rose Monday despite data showing eurozone business activity declined for the first time in seven months in September after summer boost from the Paris Olympics.
"There are serious doubts over the health of the Eurozone economies," said David Morrison, analyst at Trade Nation.
"This morning's release of a dismal set of Manufacturing and Services PMIs from Germany, France and the Eurozone only added to these concerns," Morrison said.
S&P Global's purchasing managers' index (PMI) -- a key gauge of the overall health of the economy -- dropped to 48.9 in September, down from 51 in August. Any reading below 50 indicated contraction.
O'Hare said the PMI figures did not drag stock prices lower because "they have increased the possibility of a rate cut by the ECB (European Central Bank) at its October meeting".
In company news, shares in Italian lender Unicredit fell 2.5 percent after it raised its stake in German rival Commerzbank to 21 percent, making it the largest shareholder ahead of the German state.
The move fuelled speculation that UniCredit might launch a takeover bid despite little interest from Berlin.
Commerzbank shares were down 0.7 percent.
The euro fell against the dollar as the weak European data suggests that European rates could fall more than their trans-Atlantic counterparts.
In Asia, Shanghai rose as China's central bank cut its 14-day lending rate, raising hopes for more growth-boosting measures in the world's second-largest economy.
Another round of data showed the Chinese economy remained weak.
Youth unemployment in China hit its highest level this year, as leaders struggle to kickstart growth, particularly for the troubled property sector.
Hong Kong shares dipped while Tokyo was closed for a holiday.
Stocks in Colombo fell after self-avowed Marxist Anura Kumara Dissanayaka won Sri Lanka's presidential election, fuelling worries about a $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund bailout that demands steep tax hikes and other austerity measures.
Oil prices edged up on worries about an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East after strikes by the Israeli army in Lebanon on Monday, which outweighed concerns about slower Chinese demand.
Gold sat around record highs around $2,650 after the Fed rate cut, which makes the precious metal more attractive to traders, and on geopolitical concerns.
- Key figures around 1340 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 42,114.99 points
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 5,711.24
New York - Nasdaq Composite UP 0.1 percent at 17,965.08
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,243.59
Paris - CAC 40: FLAT at 7,501.02
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.6 percent at 18,832.80
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 18,247.11 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 2,748.92 (close)
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3322 from $1.3316 on Friday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1133 from $1.1160
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.81 yen from 144.02 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.57 pence from 83.80 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $74.53 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $71.16 per barrel
I.Meyer--BTB