- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- After long fight for glory, Nadal leaves with a legacy of memories
- Home hopes Zheng and Wang through to last-eight in Wuhan Open
- UN peacekeepers say Israel fired on Lebanon HQ, injuring 2
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Alcaraz out as top players pay tribute to Nadal at Shanghai Masters
- Racing's Farrell 'not thinking' about British and Irish Lions
- Alcaraz, Sinner pay tribute to 'unbelievable' Nadal at Shanghai Masters
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- After K-pop, K-novels? South Korean Nobel win sparks joy, hope at home
- After Nadal exit, Djokovic left to rage against dying of the light
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Triple centurion Brook happy to break Dad's club record
- Zelensky touts 'victory plan' against Russia in Macron talks
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- UN peacekeepers accuses Israel of firing on Lebanon HQ
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- Southgate taking year out from coaching
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- Zelensky meets Macron in Paris as part of European tour
- Hurricane Milton shreds Florida stadium roof
- UN probe accuses Israel of seeking to 'destroy' Gaza healthcare
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- England in sight of victory after Brook's triple hundred
- Juventus readmitted to ECA after failed Super League revolt
- World number 2 Alcaraz knocked out of Shanghai Masters by Machac
- Leaders of Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia meet amid regional tensions
- Klopp's Red Bull decision 'ruined life's work' say Dortmund fans
- Han Kang wins South Korea's first literature Nobel
- S. Korea's Nobel winner Han Kang a modest, thought-provoking writer
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- The almost impossible job: Beating Rafael Nadal at the French Open
- New French government faces key test with budget plan
- Rescuers say Israeli strike on Gaza school kills 28
- Italy's ex-world champion gymnast Ferrari announces retirement
- Zelensky talks 'victory plan' in meeting with Starmer, Rutte
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Federer lauds retiring Nadal's 'incredible achievements'
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Australia beat China 3-1 to resurrect World Cup campaign
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- Nadal defied injury woes in record-breaking career
- Nadal v Djokovic, French Open, 2006: Chapter One in epic rivalry
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- Pakistan at 23-1 after Brook triple hundred takes England to 823-7
- Zelensky meets Starmer, Rutte on whirlwind tour of Europe
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Rafael Nadal calls time on epic tennis career
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines confronts China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
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US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
Shares slipped in New York and Europe Thursday as the latest US inflation report strengthened the case for a slower pace of interest rate cuts.
All three major US Wall Street indexes were lower in early trading, after the Dow and the wider S&P 500 had chalked up all-time highs Wednesday.
In Europe, Paris and Frankfurt were lower in mid-afternoon trading while London was little changed.
Earlier in the day, Chinese stock markets returned to winning ways, closing with solid gains after China's central bank took action to boost purchases of company shares.
As measured by the consumer prices index, US annual inflation slowed to 2.4 percent in September from 2.5 percent in August, the government reported.
But a core measure of inflation that strips out volatile food and energy costs rose to 3.3 percent from 3.2 percent in August.
Both figures were faster than what analysts had expected, and combined with a strong US jobs report last week, they strengthen the case for the US Federal Reserve to make only small reductions to its lending rates.
"The latest CPI figures are hardly a disaster, but after a far stronger-than-expected jobs report last week, many are questioning the Fed's decision to cut by 50 basis points last month," said Bret Kenwell, analyst at eToro.
"The two reports have all but taken another 50 basis point cut off the table next month, while some could argue that it rules out a rate cut of any kind in November."
However, there was some contradictory news Thursday, with the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week jumping to 258,000, the highest level in a year.
Analysts warned the often-volatile statistic could have been distorted by hurricanes across the south-east of the country.
"These rising claims suggest some softening in the labour market, though after a blowout nonfarm payrolls report last week, not many people are too sure about a softening labour market," said Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at Forex.com and City Index.
"More data is needed for many investors to form strong opinions about the direction of US jobs market and thus interest rates."
In London on Thursday, shares in GSK jumped more than five percent after the British pharmaceutical company agreed to pay $2.3 billion in the United States to end lawsuits alleging that its Zantac heartburn drug caused cancer.
Earlier in the day, Shanghai's stock market closed 1.3 percent higher Thursday and Hong Kong rose 3.0 percent.
Hong Kong and mainland markets whipsawed this week as the euphoria over China's recent moves to boost its economy was dampened by a news conference that failed to unveil more measures or give details on those already announced.
On Thursday, however, investors welcomed news that the People's Bank of China had released details of a "swap facility" that will allow "qualified securities, funds and insurance companies" to access more than $70 billion in liquidity to purchase equities.
Oil prices jumped around 1.5 percent as volatility continued to dominate the crude market, with prices rising after Israel's defence minister pledging that his country will strike Iran in retaliation for last week's missile attack.
- Key figures around 1345 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 42,412.55 points
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.3 percent at 5,776.49
New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 18,220.67
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 3,301.93 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 3.0 percent at 21,251.98 (close)
London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 8,241.93
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,540.33
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.2 percent at 19,213.17
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 39,380.89 (close)
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.4 percent at $77.64 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.4 percent at $74.28 per barrel
Euro/dollar: UP at 1.0943 from $1.0940 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UNCHANGED at $1.3063
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 148.69 yen from 149.35 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 83.79 pence from 83.72 pence
F.Müller--BTB