- Saudi crown prince says no Israel ties without Palestinian state
- Canada to further cut international student, foreign worker permits
- YouTube launches new TV-focused tools for creators
- White Sox heading for worst season in MLB history
- China the top challenge in US history: senior diplomat
- Hong Kong democracy tycoon's son warns time running out
- New migraine drugs no better than cheap painkillers: big study
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs again denied bail in sex trafficking case
- 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
- Hidden talent: French Olympic star Marchand opts for disguise
- MrBeast named in California lawsuit over 'Beast Games' show
- Gauff splits with Gilbert as coach after 14-month run
- Hundreds of thousands at risk in Sudan's El-Fasher: UN
- 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
- Struggling Roma replace sacked icon De Rossi with Ivan Juric
- Women's NBA will add 15th team in Portland in 2026
- Brazil fires need harsher punishment: environmental police boss
- 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
- Snapchat pushes 'safer' platform image, but not everyone agrees
- Three dead, 100 wounded in new wave of Lebanon device explosions
- So where does the oceans' plastic waste come from?
- Allied war heroes buried in Netherlands... 80 years on
- Marsh coy over Australia's choice to open alongside Head
- New London sculpture pays tribute to trans community
CMSC | 0.02% | 25.055 | $ | |
SCS | 0.71% | 14.11 | $ | |
RIO | -0.02% | 62.91 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.12% | 24.98 | $ | |
NGG | -0.46% | 70.05 | $ | |
RBGPF | 5.79% | 60.5 | $ | |
GSK | -0.31% | 42.43 | $ | |
BCE | 3.09% | 35.61 | $ | |
AZN | 0.06% | 78.58 | $ | |
JRI | 0.45% | 13.44 | $ | |
BTI | -0.34% | 37.88 | $ | |
BCC | 1.33% | 137.06 | $ | |
BP | -0.37% | 32.43 | $ | |
RYCEF | 1.37% | 6.55 | $ | |
VOD | 0.49% | 10.23 | $ | |
RELX | -0.82% | 47.37 | $ |
Stocks end higher as attention turns to interest rates
Global stock markets glided to a generally positive finish on Wednesday as investors turned their attention to central bank monetary policy in the eurozone and Britain later this week.
Most of the major European indices still managed to end the session in positive territory, while Wall Street posted decent gains for the fourth straight session after rough weeks of trading in January.
In Europe, London's FTSE closed 0.6 percent higher and the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.2 percent, but Frankfurt's DAX ended flat.
The Dow finished trading with a 0.6 percent gain, while the Nasdaq saw a similar increase and the S&P 500 performed more strongly, rising 0.9 percent.
Karl Haeling of LBBW attributed the gains to a feeling that the January market sell-off had gone overboard.
"The market was due for a rally," he said in an interview.
Also helping sentiment were recent indications from the Federal Reserve that while it is likely to hike interest rates in March to curb inflation, it won't deploy aggressive tactics, such as hiking twice as much as it usually does in a given meeting.
"I do think that less hawkish commentary from the Fed officials this week have certainly helped calm some concerns," Haeling said.
Oil prices rose after the OPEC+ oil producers group stuck to its guns and increased output only modestly despite the price of crude soaring to multi-year highs recently. But prices retreated by the close of New York trading.
"The news was hardly surprising, as the group has rigidly followed this approach since it was first agreed upon, even in December when oil prices plunged following the emergence of Omicron," said Edward Gardner, commodities expert at Capital Economics.
Attention now turns to the European Central Bank and the Bank of England as they hold their regular policy meetings on Thursday, events that will be closely watched by investors.
While the guardian of the euro is widely expected to hold borrowing costs unchanged, analysts are predicting the UK central bank will tighten policy for the second meeting in a row in a bid to rein in soaring inflation.
- Off the boil -
In Asia, investors appeared to be less worried about the Fed's plans to tighten monetary policy, while strong corporate results lifted optimism about the outlook.
And while there remains plenty of volatility and uncertainty on trading floors owing to geopolitical tensions and the Omicron spread, analysts remain upbeat for the year.
Some Asian markets were closed due to the Lunar New Year break, but those that opened -- Tokyo, Sydney, Wellington, Jakarta and Manila -- all gained more than one percent.
After a difficult January, world stock markets have enjoyed a strong start to February as investors hunt for bargains, according to analysts.
As well as the ECB and BoE meetings, traders are waiting for the publication of US jobs data Friday for the latest snapshot of the health of the world's biggest economy.
The dollar has come off the boil against its main rivals after recent strong gains on expectations of aggressive Fed interest rate hikes to combat soaring inflation.
- Key figures around 2120 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 35,629.33 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.9 percent at 4,589.38 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.5 percent at 14,417.55 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,583.00 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.04 percent at 15,613.77 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,115.27 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,222.05 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.7 percent at 27,533.60 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: Closed for a holiday
Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1304 from $1.1269 late Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3573 from $1.3519
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.28 pence from 83.33 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 114.42 yen from 114.67 yen
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $89.47 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $88.26 per barrel
burs-spm/imm/cs/hs
W.Lapointe--BTB