- 'Crazy' tree planter greening Sao Paulo concrete jungle
- French champagne makers bid to protect seasonal workers from abuse
- Atletico Madrid president splits time between football and film
- Japan ruling party to hold 'toss-up' vote for next PM
- Alcaraz says 'a lot of players' agree after schedule 'kill us' comments
- Outdated rules, limited metro collide for 'unbearable' Athens gridlock
- Ninth body recovered in flood-hit Japan region
- Sirens sound in Tel Aviv after fresh air strikes reported in Lebanon
- China launches intercontinental missile into Pacific in rare test
- The EU vs X: How big could the fines be for Musk?
- Hefty Australian penguin chick 'Pesto' becomes star
- Fashion's fun 'Frankenstein' flies after Olympic triumph
- Volkswagen crisis pits homegrown leaders against each other
- Princess Zelda takes the lead in 'Echoes of Wisdom'
- Astros clinch division title, Yankees kept waiting
- Asian markets boosted again after another Chinese rate cut
- The struggle to keep track of Gaza war deaths
- China cuts another key interest rate to boost economy
- Restarting nuclear power plants: the unprecedented gamble in the US
- US state executes man despite conviction doubts
- Asylum seeker lifts South Korea hopes at Homeless World Cup
- Hostages freed in Gaza truce pine for those left behind
- Pope offers refuge to Myanmar's jailed Suu Kyi: report
- Tragic tale of two West Bank teenagers freed in Gaza truce
- US intel warns of Iran threats to assassinate Trump: campaign
- In election, Hollywood is about cash not endorsements
- UK foreign minister Lammy seeks 'strongest position' for Ukraine
- Macron presses Iran president for Lebanon de-escalation
- UNRWA fears new 'tragedy' as Lebanon violence adds strain: chief to AFP
- Russia mulls ban on 'childless propaganda'
- Blackwater founder probed by Venezuela over anti-Maduro campaign
- Crypto CEO and Bankman-Fried ex Caroline Ellison gets two-year sentence
- Hezbollah announces death of commander after strike on south Beirut
- Tatum hungry for more after breakthrough Celtics success
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs sued for alleged 2001 rape
- Biden pleads for democracy in emotional UN farewell
- New York area port prepares for possible US strike disruption
- Rodri 'irreplaceable' but Guardiola confident Man City will still compete
- Brook 'relieved' as maiden ODI hundred sets up first win as England captain
- Dior's arrows and Amazons as Saint Laurent revives its master
- Mbappe strikes again as Madrid hold off Alaves
- Nkunku hits Chelsea hat-trick, Man City edge into League Cup last 16
- Amnesty calls for commission to probe Kenya protest deaths
- Bolivian government rejects Morales ultimatum for cabinet reshuffle
- US Congress calls on Novo Nordisk to lower drug prices
- Stock markets advance on China stimulus
- Russia 'can only be forced into peace," Zelensky tells UN
- Hundred hero Brook keeps England alive in Australia ODI series
- Biden pleads for democracy in final UN address
- Brook's hundred sees England beat Australia in 3rd ODI
Stocks rally as Fed eases fears of bigger rate hike
Stock markets rallied Thursday after the Federal Reserve played down chances of an even bigger US interest rate hike in the near future.
Oil prices steadied, one day after big gains as the European Commission proposed a gradual ban on Russian crude over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced an expected half-point lift in borrowing costs -- the biggest since 2000 -- as part of its battle to rein in inflation.
However, traders were given some much-needed cheer when Fed boss Jerome Powell said a 75 basis-point rise, which had been flagged by many observers, was not being considered.
"Relief has rippled through the financial markets as the Federal Reserve seems committed to keep to the path it had mapped out to try and tame roaring inflation," noted Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
The Fed has also indicated that it will start rolling back its massive stimulus programme by offloading bonds from its balance sheet "on a more gradual incline than some feared", Streeter added.
On Wall Street Wednesday following the Fed update, all three main indices closed up by about three percent thanks to a surge in tech firms, which are most susceptible to higher rates.
Strong gains in New York filtered through to Asia and Europe on Thursday.
At 1100 GMT, the Bank of England is expected to announce a fourth straight hike to its main interest rate as UK inflation sits at the highest level in 30 years.
News that Turkish inflation soared to 70 percent in April highlighted the battle central bankers face in controlling prices.
- OPEC+ decision -
Inflation has been dragged higher globally in large part owing to surging energy prices.
OPEC+ members meeting on Thursday are expected to agree a marginal increase in oil production as tight supply concerns caused by the Ukraine war are offset by lower demand risks triggered by China's renewed Covid lockdowns.
OPEC+ includes members of the OPEC oil producers cartel, notably Saudi Arabia, as well as key energy producer Russia.
Traders on Thursday digested also earnings updates from some of the world's biggest companies.
Shares in Airbus soared more than seven percent in Paris after the European aircraft maker said late Wednesday that its net profit more than tripled in the first quarter to 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion), despite the impact of sanctions against Russia.
The results confirm the company's recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic slammed the air travel industry in 2020.
- Key figures at around 0945 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 7,551.92 points
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.3 percent at 14,156.82
Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.5 percent at 6,493.45
EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.2 percent at 3,771.35
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.4 percent at 20,793.40 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,067.76 (close)
New York - Dow: UP 2.8 percent at 34,061.06 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.2 percent at $110.34 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $107.72 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0598 from $1.0625 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2567 from $1.2632
Euro/pound: UP at 84.33 pence from 84.06 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 129.63 yen from 129.05 yen
J.Fankhauser--BTB