- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- 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
Interest rate concerns, inflation hobble stock markets
Stubbornly high UK inflation and worries about future central bank moves to tame rampant consumer prices helped drag down stocks across much of the world on Wednesday.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index ended 0.1 percent lower after official data stoked expectations of another interest-rate hike from the Bank of England that could weigh further on the economy.
Britain's annual inflation rate slowed in March but held above 10 percent on soaring food prices, further fuelling the country's cost-of-living crisis.
Wall Street was also lower in late morning trading, while Asian markets ended mostly lower.
Frankfurt and Paris bucked the trend, however, edging higher.
World oil prices shed two percent on fears the US Federal Reserve could also hike rates sharply again, in turn denting demand for crude, before paring losses.
- Souring the mood -
"Stubbornly high inflation soured the mood," noted Russ Mould, investment director at stockbroker AJ Bell.
"News that UK CPI (Consumer Prices Index) remains in double-digits will only strengthen the argument for the Bank of England to keep pushing up interest rates."
The BoE has hiked rates 11 times since late 2021 in an unsuccessful bid to keep inflation close to a 2.0-percent target.
Higher borrowing costs have exacerbated the UK's cost-of-living crisis, ramped up loans for businesses and consumers alike and dampened activity.
Investors are also focusing on earnings from Morgan Stanley bank and electric carmaker Tesla, which reports after the close of US trading.
Morgan Stanley reported drops in both revenue and profit as deal-making business dropped. Its shares dropped three percent at the start of trading, but made up much of the loss.
"After a reasonable start to earnings season we have seen a more cautious mood creep in, which is understandable given the fears about a recession happening within the next year," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG.
"Losses have been relatively contained however, with stocks caught more in a period of indecision rather than heading into another big sell-off," he added.
Wall Street's main indices were down in late morning trading, with the Dow shedding 0.4 percent.
Analyst Stephen Innes, of SPI Asset Management, said investors were dwelling on the Fed's outlook.
"Global traders have seemingly moved into defensive mode as the debate goes on whether the Fed is at the top of its hiking cycle," Innes noted.
That debate remained far from settled, with some analysts warning that certain investors' apparent confidence in coming rate cuts was misplaced.
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare pointed to rising US bond yields, an indication of higher borrowing costs for companies and consumers.
This "has cast some pressure on growth stocks that had been rallying with the move down in rates and expectations that the Fed will cut rates more than once before the end of the year," he said.
"With the re-think on that front, some money is being taken off the table," he added.
- Key figures around 1530 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 33,859.11 points
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,898.77 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 15,895.20 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,549.44 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: FLAT at 4,393.57 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 28,606.76 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 20,367.76 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,370.13 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0960 from $1.0954 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2442 from $1.2425
Dollar/yen: UP at 134.67 yen from 134.12 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 88.09 pence from 88.31 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.4 percent at $79.70 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.5 percent at $83.54 per barrel
burs-rl/cw
O.Hansen--CPN