- 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
European stocks retreat as eurozone economy ekes out growth
European stock markets retreated Friday as official data confirmed the eurozone is struggling to grow.
Asian equity indices earlier closed higher after strong gains Thursday on Wall Street as largely well-received earnings from US tech giants this week helped to offset global recession fears.
The United States on Thursday revealed its economy slowed more than expected in the first quarter.
That preceded figures Friday that showed the eurozone economy lumbered forward in the first three months of the year -- expanding just 0.1 percent over the previous quarter as high inflation and interest rates weigh on activity.
Focus is turning to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting next week, with the market expecting the US central bank to consider strong consumer spending and a drop in weekly jobless claims as evidence that the economy can take more inflation-fighting interest rate hikes.
The European Central Bank also decides on rates next week.
On Friday, the International Monetary Fund's department director for Europe, Alfred Kammer, urged the continent's central banks to "kill the beast" of inflation by continuing to hike interest rates.
The Bank of England has ramped up its own borrowing costs since the end of 2021, while markets fear that carrying on down a path of monetary tightening could tip the world economy into recession.
"The very small increase in (eurozone) GDP... means a technical recession has been avoided by a whisker," noted Capital Economics' chief Europe economist Andrew Kenningham.
"However, the economy has essentially stalled as domestic demand has been hit hard by the energy shock followed by monetary tightening."
On the corporate front Friday, ExxonMobil reported that first-quarter profits more than doubled to $11.4 billion.
Even though oil prices were lower during the reporting period compared with a year earlier, earnings still won a boost from a better performance in the refining business.
Earnings in the first three months of last year had taken a knock from one-time costs associated with ExxonMobil's withdrawal from a project in Russia, a move taken after the country's invasion of Ukraine.
- Key figures around 1100 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,809.35 points
Frankfurt - DAX 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 15,743.17
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.8 percent at 7,423.80
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.9 percent at 4,355.94
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 19,894.57 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 3,323.27 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.4 percent at 28,856.44 (close)
New York - Dow: UP 1.6 percent at 33,826.16 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0989 from $1.1033 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2466 from $1.2498
Dollar/yen: UP at 136.08 yen from 134.02 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 88.14 pence from 88.24 pence
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.7 percent at $78.90 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $74.97 per barrel
burs/bcp/rfj/kjm
Y.Ponomarenko--CPN