- Guatemala picks Supreme Court judges with focus on anti-graft fight
- Jill Biden announces $500 million for women's health research
- Injured All Blacks centre Jordie Barrett out of Australia Test
- 'Lead the future': youth challenge world leaders at UN
- Goosebumps and stars as Paris Fashion Week kicks off
- Boeing boosts pay offer in effort to end strike
- Global markets inch higher on hopes of further rate cuts
- Amazon forest loses area the size of Germany and France, fueling fires
- 'Curious' Dupont eyes position change after claiming Top 14 award
- Man Utd stadium regeneration could add £7.3bn to British economy
- At COP16, Colombia seeks to lead by example on biodiversity
- Dupont caps off Olympic gold season with Top 14 player award
- Leeds to expand Elland Road to 53,000 capacity
- Mysterious 18th century diamond necklace set for auction
- World's oceans near critical acidification level: report
- California sues oil giant Exxon over plastic recycling 'myth'
- As wars rage, UN's critics say global body is failing its mission
- Amazon forest has lost an area the size of Germany and France
- Nadal, Alcaraz and Sinner in Davis Cup finals teams
- Telegram's Durov announces new crackdown on illegal content
- African players in Europe: Ice-cool Jackson strikes twice
- 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
Global markets inch higher on hopes of further rate cuts
US and European shares nudged higher Monday as momentum from last week was restrained by weaker eurozone economic data.
Stock markets rallied after the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced a bumper interest rate cut, its first since 2020, as inflation continued to cool toward its long-term target of two percent.
On Wall Street, the Dow and the broad-based S&P 500 hit fresh records, extending a positive stretch in anticipation of further central bank easing in the months ahead.
Easing monetary policy is "supportive for equities," said LBBW's Karl Haeling, who expects US officials could accelerate rate cuts if the labor market weakens.
London and Paris closed slightly higher Monday, while Frankfurt gained a healthier 0.7 percent.
- Awaiting US inflation data -
Friday's upcoming release of the personal consumption expenditures index -- the Fed's preferred inflation metric -- could shed light on the bank's next rate move, as could several planned speeches this week by senior Fed officials.
Speaking on Monday, Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic said the US central bank's rate decision last week left it in a strong position, whichever way the economic winds blow in the coming months.
"In my view, the 50-basis-point adjustment at the meeting last week positions us well should the risks to our mandates turn out to be less balanced than I am thinking," said Bostic, one of 12 voting members on the Fed's rate-setting committee this year.
"If my optimism about inflation is unsatisfied, then the Committee can slow or even halt the pace of further reductions," he said.
On the other hand, if the labor markets turn out to be less healthy than they appear at this moment, "the half percentage-point reduction puts us in a better position to adjust than a more modest cut would have," Bostic added.
- Eurozone business activity falls -
Traders in Europe juggled reports showing that eurozone business activity declined for the first time in seven months in September with expectations that the weak data raises the chance the European Central Bank could speed up its own rate cuts.
"PMI data for France and Germany was weak across the board," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
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.
Renewed expectations of rate cuts from the ECB supported continental shares, despite the weak data.
"The September PMI data could add some urgency to ECB rate cuts for the rest of this year," said Brooks.
In company news, the German government said it would oppose a takeover of Commerzbank after Italian lender UniCredit raised its stake in the German bank to 21 percent, making it the largest shareholder.
Shares in both banks closed lower on the news.
Oil prices slipped as concerns about slower Chinese demand outweighed worries over an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East after Israel struck Lebanon on Monday.
And gold sat close to record highs after the Fed rate cut, which makes the precious metal more attractive to traders. Its price was also supported by ongoing geopolitical concerns as tensions heat up in the Middle East.
- Key figures around 2030 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 42,124.65 points (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.3 percent at 5,718.57 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite UP 0.3 percent at 17,998.97 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 8,259.71 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,508.08 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 18,846.79 (close)
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)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1113 from $1.1160
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3345 from $1.3316 on Friday
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.57 yen from 144.02 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.27 pence from 83.80 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.8 percent at $73.90 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.9 percent at $70.37 per barrel
O.Krause--BTB