- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
Global equities wobble as US data raises recession fear
World stock markets wavered Wednesday as investors dwelled on US recession concerns and a bumper interest-rate hike in New Zealand.
Wall Street opened mixed, with the Dow adding a tenth of a percent, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both falling as more data added to recession concerns.
London rose but Frankfurt and Paris fell in muted trade during a holiday-shortened week, while Asian indices drifted lower.
Oil dipped, having spiked earlier this week following shock output cuts from OPEC+ crude producers.
"Markets are drifting as investor thoughts start to turn towards the scale of severity, as the likelihood of a recession later in the year in the US increases," said Richard Hunter, head of markets at trading firm Interactive Investor.
- New Zealand lift rates -
The central bank of New Zealand on Wednesday became the latest to hike interest rates sharply to tackle soaring inflation, a day after its peer in Australia paused its own monetary tightening campaign.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand lifted its rate by a larger-than-expected 50 basis points to 5.25 percent.
"Central banks seem currently divided on whether inflation has peaked and therefore whether to tap on the tightening brakes," Hunter told AFP.
"The New Zealand decision is in contrast to the Australian decision to hold, and the market consensus is at the moment evenly split between whether the US Federal Reserve's next move is a final 0.25 percentage point rise -- or no action at all."
After March's banking sector-sparked turmoil, markets have enjoyed a few bright weeks on optimism the Fed will temper its interest rate hikes earlier than thought.
The rally continued at the start of this week, even after surprise cuts in oil output by major producers sent prices soaring and reignited worries over inflation, which has been coming down in the past months.
But New York traders turned sellers Tuesday after data showed February job openings at US companies fell to their lowest level since May 2021 and below forecasts.
While figures showing a weaker labour market can give the Fed room to stop hiking rates, analysts said the reading was also seen as a warning that the economy was on the slide.
Data released by payrolls firm ADP on Wednesday showed US private sector employment increased by 145,000 jobs last month, but that was way below expectations.
Meanwhile, the US trade deficit rose to $70.5 billion in February, separate data showed, as both imports and exports fell, which indicates slower global trade activity.
"The slowing economic activity is something the Fed will likely be pleased to see, yet it appears to be giving the stock market some cause for pause after its strong run off the mid-March lows," said market analyst Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com.
- Gold sparkles -
The price of gold, considered a safe bet in times of economic turmoil, rose Wednesday toward a record peak, one day after breaking $2,000 per ounce.
Gold climbed as high as $2,032.07, a level last seen in early 2022 and not far from a record $2,075.47 set in August 2020.
"Investors fled to the yellow metal as a safe-haven play, given uncertainty about US growth expectations," said TickMill Group analyst Patrick Munnelly.
- Key figures around 1330 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 33,439.28 points
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 7,670.31
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,322.91
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 15,523.64
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.3 percent at 4,300.59
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.7 percent at 27,813.26 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: Closed for holiday
Shanghai - Composite: Closed for holiday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0945 from $1.0953 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2473 from $1.2501
Euro/pound: UP at 87.74 pence at 87.62 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 131.14 yen from 131.71 yen
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $84.71 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $80.46 per barrel
burs-rl/lth
J.Bondarev--CPN