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- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
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- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
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- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
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- 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
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- 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
Markets mixed ahead of key US employment report
Stock markets were mixed on Thursday, on the eve of a long Easter holiday and key US jobs data that could provide clues about whether the world's biggest economy is headed towards recession.
European indices climbed along with Wall Street, where stocks shook off early weakness and finished higher. Asian markets were mixed.
"Growing recessionary concerns cast a pall over markets," said analyst Richard Hunter at trading firm Interactive Investor.
"A number of US releases suggested that the economy is beginning to wilt under the pressure of the Federal Reserve's aggressive (interest rate) hiking policy, with attention now turning to the scale of a recession, rather than whether one will happen," he said.
On Friday, investors' focus will turn to the release of key US employment figures.
Fresh US government unemployment data on Thursday showed that there were 228,000 new applications for unemployment aid last week, above analyst expectations.
And Friday's jobs figures could be crucial to determining the Fed's next interest rate decision.
All three major European markets and Hong Kong will be shut on Friday and Monday for a four-day Easter holiday weekend.
Wall Street will be closed on Friday but open on Monday, with Tokyo, Shanghai and Shenzhen working on both days.
"The closure... on Friday means that equity traders will be unable to react to the release until next week which, coupled with the long weekend, has seen some traders squaring positions and being unwilling to open new ones given the extended break," Hunter added.
Economic institutes earlier said that Germany would escape recession this year after all and grow 0.3 percent, while fresh data on Thursday showed industrial production rose more than expected in Europe's biggest economy in February.
But US data this week has been mostly weak.
On Wednesday, a report from the Institute for Supply Management showed that US services sector activity grew less than forecast last month, while a separate report pointed to private employers slowing their hiring pace in March.
While traders have long hoped for a tightening of the labor market and an economic slowdown that would allow the Fed to stop lifting rates, there is now rising concern of a recession.
International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said Thursday that a continued slowdown in almost all the world's advanced economies is expected to drag global growth below three percent this year.
- Key figures around 2030 GMT -
New York - Dow: FLAT at 33,485.29 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 4,105.02 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.8 percent at 12,087.96 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 1.0 percent at 7,741,56 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,324.75 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 15,597.89 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3 percent at 4,309.45 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.2 percent at 27,472.63 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 20,331.20 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: FLAT at 3,312.63 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0923 from $1.0904 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2441 from $1.2462
Euro/pound: UP at 87.77 pence at 87.50 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 131.80 yen from 131.32 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.2 percent at $85.12 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percenat at $80.70 per barrel
burs-jmb/bys
X.Wong--CPN