- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- 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
Strong Microsoft results lift Nasdaq as most global bourses fall
Blockbuster tech earnings lifted the Nasdaq on Wednesday, but recession fears weighed on other major United States and European indices while pushing oil prices lower.
The main US indices, which had fallen sharply Tuesday, initially recovered a day later following results by Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft that topped expectations.
While the tech-rich Nasdaq advanced 0.5 percent, both the Dow and S&P 500 finished the session lower.
Shares in Microsoft jumped 7.2 percent after it reported quarterly profits of $18.3 billion behind strong contributions from its cloud computing and artificial intelligence offerings.
The surge came despite UK regulators blocking Microsoft's $69-billion takeover of US video game giant Activision Blizzard. Although Microsoft will appeal, the ruling could signal the deal is on the rocks as EU and US regulators have yet to sign off.
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said "the overall body of earnings reporting work for the March quarter since yesterday's close has been quite good, yet the overall reaction has been quite subdued."
Investors kept an eye on the embattled First Republic Bank, which ended nearly 30 percent down after another bruising session.
"The concerns about a hard landing (or recession) are deepening and the concerns are largely focused on the banking industry," said Hugh Johnson of Hugh Johnson Economics.
European markets fell while Asian markets turned in a mixed performance following Wall Street losses on Tuesday, with lackluster US consumer data raising concerns about the economic outlook.
"Realization is dawning that more ominous clouds are gathering over the US economy, causing fresh nervousness for investors," noted Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Also weighing on sentiment was the question of interest rates, with Sweden's Riksbank on Wednesday hiking its guiding rate by a half-point to 3.5 percent as it tried to rein in double-digit inflation.
Oil prices, meanwhile, tumbled on worries that an economic slowdown will pinch demand, even as weekly US data pointed to strong gasoline demand.
The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate finished at $74.30 a barrel, down 3.6 percent.
"The economy is weakening but it isn't falling off a cliff, so we shouldn't be seeing oil trade near the low $70s," said Oanda's Edward Moya.
"China's recovery is not materializing, and US demand is weaker, so $100 oil won't be happening," he said.
- Key figures around 2150 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 33,301.87 (close)
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 4,055.99 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.5 percent at 11,854.35 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 7,852.64 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 15,795.73 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.9 percent at 7,466.66 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.7 percent at 4,347.71 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.7 percent at 19,757.27 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: FLAT at 3,264.10 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 28,416.47 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1044 from $1.0973 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2468 from $1.2409
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 133.67 yen from 133.76 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 88.55 pence from 89.19 pence
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 3.8 percent at $77.69 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.6 percent at $74.30 per barrel
burs-jmb/bys
P.Gonzales--CPN