- Stocks diverge, oil retreats as China disappoints markets
- Trio wins economics Nobel for work on wealth inequality
- Ex-Stasi officer jailed over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as markets rally
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as Asian markets rally
- Nearly 90, but opera legend Kabaivanska is still calling tune
- With inflation down, ECB eyes faster tempo of rate cuts
- Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate
- Ex-Stasi officer faces verdict over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Role of government, poverty research tipped for economics Nobel
- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- 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
Markets mostly up, traders move cautiously ahead of Fed decision
Most markets rose Monday but investors traded cautiously as they awaited key US inflation data and the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision later this week.
Stocks globally have enjoyed a broadly strong run-up this month on hopes the US central bank will decide against an eleventh successive hike at the end of the meeting on Wednesday.
Positive readings on jobs in the past few weeks -- indicating the economy remained healthy but gave the Fed room to stand pat in June -- have added to the broadly upbeat mood.
However, with the policy board split on the best way forward for fighting still-too-high inflation, there remains a certain amount of uncertainty on trading floors.
The decision comes a day after the release of consumer price inflation data, which could play a major role in officials' thinking.
For now, the forecast is for the Fed to hold this month but announce another hike in July.
"With inflation still well over double the target rate for all central banks can the US Federal Reserve really afford the luxury of a pause, or are they right to be careful given the deflation coming out of China," said CMC Markets' Michael Hewson.
"Growth is already slowing in China post covid, and in Europe, Germany and the EU are already in a technical recession, while the UK probably isn't too far behind."
Policy announcements from the central banks of Japan, China and the eurozone are also due this week, after Canada and Australia unveiled small increases last week.
Meanwhile, concern about China's sluggish recovery and signs of further weakness in Europe continued to weigh on sentiment.
After a positive but light lead from Wall Street -- with the S&P 500 extending its bull market run -- Asian traders battled to build on last week's advances.
Tokyo, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Singapore, Jakarta and Taipei rose but Shanghai, Seoul, Bangkok and Wellington dipped.
London, Paris and Frankfurt rose in the morning.
- Recession worries -
Solita Marcelli, of UBS Global Wealth Management, warned against thinking the latest gains for equities could be the beginning of a rally.
"While many investors believe that passing this milestone puts markets in bull territory, it remains possible that we are seeing a bear market rally -- a period of strong gains that occurs in the middle of a bear market," she said.
"Until markets reach a new all-time high, it's impossible to know whether the bear market trough -- the ultimate low of the market cycle -- is behind us."
And Mike Riddell, of Allianz Global Investors, said that while the US economy appeared to still be holding up, there was a possibility of a "nasty recession" before the year's end owing to numerous rate hikes.
"Our base case is for a moderate-to-deep recession -- and potentially crises -- as the unprecedented pace of global policy tightening seen over the last year starts to really bite."
Worries about a possible recession -- as well as China's weakness -- and the impact that could have on demand weighed on oil prices Monday, extending Friday's losses of more than one percent for both contracts.
The drop came even after Saudi Arabia's surprise decision last weekend to cut output by a million barrels a day next month, and possibly for longer.
- Key figures around 0820 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 32,434.00 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 19,404.31 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,228.83 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,593.70
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0772 from $1.0749 on Friday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2589 from $1.2578
Dollar/yen: UP at 139.50 yen from 139.41 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 85.54 percent from 85.44 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.8 percent at $68.89 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.7 percent at $73.52 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 33,876.78 (close)
A.Leibowitz--CPN