- 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
Relief rally on Wall Street after better-than-feared earnings
Wall Street stocks shook off recent weakness and powered higher on Thursday following strong results from Facebook parent Meta Platforms and mixed US economic data.
Shares of Meta surged around 14 percent as it reported a profit of $5.7 billion in the first quarter -- the latest favorable results by a US tech giant -- prompting relief in the market following earlier fears that the sector might sputter.
Solid results from Meta, as well as Microsoft and Alphabet earlier in the week, "helped foster a sense of relief that the mega-cap leaders are still performing relatively well from an operational standpoint and maintaining their position as market leaders," said Briefing.com.
Following a muted session on European and Asian bourses, US stocks enjoyed their best day in weeks. The S&P 500 finished two percent higher.
Art Hogan, an analyst at B. Riley Financial, said investors were also heartened by US gross domestic product data that showed strong consumer spending, even if the headline figure disappointed.
Further "the worst of the regional bank turmoil is likely in the rear mirror," said Hogan, noting that most US lenders released earnings that were reassuring.
"It doesn't feel like the market is expecting some contagion," Hogan said.
After two straight routs, First Republic Bank mustered an 8.8 percent gain. Other regional banks also closed higher.
With markets having digested the busiest stretch of earnings, the focus turns next to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting next week.
Yields on US government debt rose after US data was released, suggesting that the market expects the Fed to consider strong consumer spending in the first quarter as well as a drop in weekly jobless claims on Thursday as evidence that the economy can take more interest rate hikes.
Elsewhere, oil prices rose modestly, bouncing from the prior session's rout.
Japan's Nomura bank saw its share price plunge more than seven percent after announcing its profits tumbled 76 percent to $55.3 million in the last quarter.
But British bank Barclays rallied more than five percent, topping London's benchmark FTSE 100 stocks index, thanks to a jump in quarterly profits.
Back in New York, Caterpillar shares fell 0.9 percent despite reporting solid earnings, as the market remained unconvinced about the company's outlook amid recession worries.
- Key figures around 2045 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 1.6 percent at 33,826.16 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 2.0 percent at 4,135.35 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 2.4 percent at 12,142.24 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,831.58 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX 40: UP less than 0.1 percent at 15,800.45 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,483.84 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.2 percent at 4,358.05 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 at 19,840.28 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,285.88 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 28,457.68 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1033 from $1.1041 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2498 from $1.2469
Dollar/yen: UP at 134.02 yen from 133.67 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 88.24 pence from 88.55 pence
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.9 percent at $78.37 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $74.76 per barrel
burs-jmb/bys
D.Avraham--CPN