- Boeing announces intention to raise up to $25 bn
- Ferguson to leave Man Utd ambassador role as club cuts costs
- Oil prices tumble on easing Middle East fears
- Oil prices hit by easing Middle East fears, most Asian markets rise
- Hopes pinned on peace across Taiwan Strait after drills
- Belgian pathologist and literary star gives 'voice to the dead'
- East Timor fights new battles 25 years after independence vote
- Oil prices drop on easing fears over Middle East, most markets rise
- Reoxygenating oceans: startups lead the way in Baltic Sea
- King Charles III heads to Australia and Commonwealth meeting
- Wall Street stocks hit fresh records as oil prices slide
- 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
Stocks mostly rise as profits please and recession worries ease
World stock markets mainly rose Friday as companies reported better-than-expected earnings and investors hoped easing US inflation would mean an end to rate hikes is near.
The European single currency meanwhile struck $1.1248, the highest level since February 2022, and oil prices slid before the weekend.
The US corporate earnings season got into full swing with big-hitting banks Citigroup, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo all reporting better-than-expected results or outlooks.
"One key point to watch for here will be impairments -- even though the monetary policy tightening cycle appears to be closing in on its peak, has the Fed overcooked the situation and will this now leave a lasting scar on economic performance?" noted Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony.
JPMorgan Chase reported a 67 percent jump in second-quarter profits to $14.5 billion, but also added reserves of $1.5 billion in case of bad loans, although most of that was tied to its acquisition of First Republic Bank under a government-orchestrated spring auction after the smaller lender suffered a fatal run on deposits.
Its shares rose but had given up their gains by late morning.
Shares in Wells Fargo bank rose more than two percent before paring gains after it beat revenue and earnings estimates, with net profit rising 58 percent to $4.9 billion. Meanwhile, provisions for credit losses came in at $1.71 billion, up from $580 million last year.
Citigroup shares slid 2.5 percent after it reported a 36 percent drop in profits, although it still beat expectations.
Traders welcomed this week more data showing falling US inflation, giving the Fed room to bring the curtain down on more than a year of rate increases.
Global equities have been bubbling on hopes for an end to monetary tightening aimed at taming inflation, which was fuelled by post-Covid reopening, supply chain snarls and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
That has come just as China pledges to introduce measures to kickstart its stuttering economy and bring an end to a painful crackdown on the huge tech sector.
Wall Street cheered news Thursday that wholesale prices rose less than expected in June. That followed Wednesday's report showing the consumer price index below forecasts.
While the CPI remains above the Fed's target, analysts said there is growing confidence that officials were winning their battle and the economy could avoid a feared recession.
Despite a Fed official saying he thinks two more rate hikes are possible this year the "market still believes it is one-and-done for the Fed", said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
"In any case, the stock market is winning the fight for now, because it remains evident in the strong labor market that the economy is still battling well in the wake of the Fed's prior rate hikes," he added.
Thursday's upbeat mood filtered through to Asia, where Hong Kong rose for a fifth successive day thanks to a bounce in Chinese tech giants.
Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta also gained.
However, Tokyo struggled owing to a pick-up in the yen against the dollar, which has come under pressure against its peers owing to lower expectations about US rates.
Oil prices fell Friday but were still set to end the week with gains.
"Crude oil prices look set to complete their third successive weekly gain pushing above $80 a barrel, as concerns over tighter supply help to underpin prices," said Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.
- Key figures around 1530 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 34,511.14 points
London - FTSE 100: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 7,434.57 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP less than 0.1 percent at 7,374.54 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.2 percent at 16,105.07 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.2 percent at 4,400.11 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 32,391.26 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 19,413.78 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: FLAT at 3,237.70 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1240 from $1.1226 on Thursday
Dollar/yen: UP at 138.08 yen from 138.03 yen
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3121 from $1.3134
Euro/pound: UP at 85.66 pence from 85.47 pence
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.4 percent at $80.22 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.5 percent at $75.71 per barrel
burs-rl/fb
D.Avraham--CPN