- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- A US climate scientist sees hurricane Helene's devastation firsthand
- Can carbon credits help close coal plants?
- Boeing suspends negotiations with striking workers
- 7-Eleven owner's shares spike on report of new buyout offer
- Your 'local everything': what 7-Eleven buyout battle means for Japan
- AI-aided research, new materials eyed for Nobel Chemistry Prize
- The US economy is solid: Why are voters gloomy?
- Scientists sound AI alarm after winning physics Nobel
- Nobel-winning physicist 'unnerved' by AI technology he helped create
- Trump secretly sent Covid tests to Putin: Bob Woodward book
- Neural networks, machine learning? Nobel-winning AI science explained
- Boeing delivers 27 MAX jets in September despite strike
- Stock markets diverge as Hong Kong sinks, oil prices fall
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
Stocks extend solid start to year, oil prices rebound
Stock markets mostly extended the solid start to the year Thursday as China reopens its economy from lockdowns, while oil prices recovered after heavy losses.
Markets tracked Wednesday's rally on Wall Street that came even as minutes from the Federal Reserve's December meeting showed officials lining up more hikes to US interest rates to fight decades-high inflation.
The upbeat mood has been boosted by signs that China is implementing policy changes to make it a more attractive location for investment.
A decision allowing Ant Group to raise $1.5 billion in funding was seen as an indication that authorities' long-running crackdown on the tech sector could be coming to an end.
Fresh measures to support the struggling property sector have also been unveiled.
Reports that Beijing was considering lifting a two-year ban on some imports of Australian coal, as well as a slight thawing of ties with Washington, were also providing some hope for the year ahead.
That all comes against the backdrop of a rollback of the country's strict zero-Covid policy, which had sapped economic growth since the start of the pandemic.
The move has fanned hopes that the world's second-largest economy will bounce back after three years of lockdowns and tough restrictions, though the surge in infections in recent weeks has also raised concerns about the near-term outlook.
"The medium-term prospects still appear quite bullish, especially if China can bounce back strongly later this year and fully transition to living with Covid, like much of the rest of the world," said analyst Craig Erlam at trading firm Oanda.
Crude prices jumped but were still well down on the week, as demand outlook remains weak owing to China's Covid crisis keeping people at home and Europe's mild winter lowering energy use.
In a sign that the energy crisis may be easing, natural gas prices in Europe are at their lowest levels since November 2021, wiping out the rises seen after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Traders are now awaiting the release of US jobs data at the end of the week, which will give the latest snapshot of the world's top economy after almost a year of Fed rate hikes and surging inflation.
The Fed minutes released Wednesday showed officials intend to keep hiking rates and would not ease policy until prices are under control, keeping traders on edge that the central bank will tip the economy into recession.
"However, we must remember that the Fed also did not forecast raising rates by 400 basis points twelve months ago, so their forecasting ability" raises questions, said Joe Gilbert at Integrity Asset Management.
- Key figures around 1200 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,616.90 points
Frankfurt - DAX: FLAT at 14,491.43
Paris - CAC 40: FLAT at 6,775.38
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,971.16
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 25,820.80 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.3 percent at 21,052.17 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.0 percent at 3,155.22 (close)
New York - Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 33,269.77 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: UP 2.2 percent at $79.57 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.2 percent at $74.44 per barrel
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0613 from $1.0611 Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2019 from $1.2055
Euro/pound: UP at 88.27 pence from 87.94 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 132.48 yen from 132.67 yen
H.Müller--CPN