- Strike-hit Boeing leaves experts puzzled by strategy
- NASA launches probe to study if life possible on icy Jupiter moon
- EVs seek to regain sales momentum at Paris Motor Show
- NASA probe Europa Clipper lifts off for Jupiter's icy moon
- 'Unsustainable' housing crisis bedevils Spain's socialist govt
- Stocks shrug off China disappointment but oil slides
- 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
Stock markets dip as UK inflation stays high
Stock markets fell Wednesday as investors fretted about stubbornly high inflation in Britain and braced for fresh interest-rate signals from US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell.
With annual inflation unchanged at 8.7 percent in May when markets expected a fall, the Bank of England could go for a bigger rate hike than previously thought at a meeting on Thursday, according to analysts.
"The impact of further monetary tightening on the British economy is likely to hinder economic activity and ultimately cause a contraction," noted Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades.
Wall Street opened lower as investors awaited Powell's testimony in Congress later on Wednesday.
His comments will be closely scrutinised for clues about the direction of the Fed's campaign to fight elevated inflation with interest-rate hikes.
The US central bank last week held rates steady after 10 straight increases, but signalled more hikes could come to bring prices under control.
Investors are equally eager to hear his take on the near global banking crisis in March triggered in the aftermath of the collapse of a number of regional lenders.
Powell is expected to "attest that the banking system is resilient, that the inflation adjustment process has a ways to go still," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
Bu traders are "entertaining the notion that the market is overdue for a consolidation period", O'Hare added.
The anxiety over Powell's testimony follows disappointment across market floors this week with Beijing's moves to try and revive the Chinese economy.
The People's Bank of China reduced its benchmark five-year rate by 10 basis points on Tuesday, less than the 15 points expected.
Uncertainty over the Chinese economy, which continues to show signs of weakness as the post-Covid rebound fades, also weighed on the yuan, which on Wednesday briefly fell past 7.2 per dollar for the first time since November.
"Developments in China... continue to point to a slower-than-predicted post-pandemic recovery in the world's second-largest economy," added Evangelista.
"With China's economy struggling to regain momentum, the headwinds for the global economy get stronger."
The Shanghai stock market closed down 1.3 percent and Hong Kong lost two percent.
- Key figures around 1330 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 33,921.03 points
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,538.97
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 16,047.73
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,253.01
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.4 percent at 4,327.70
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.6 percent at 33,575.14 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.0 percent at 19,218.35 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.3 percent at 3,197.90 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0915 from $1.0918 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2717 from $1.2766
Dollar/yen: UP at 142.13 from 141.40 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 85.86 pence from 85.50 pence
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.1 percent at $75.81 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $71.21 per barrel
burs-giv/lth
Y.Tengku--CPN