- Boeing to raise up to $25 bn as strike weighs on finances
- Oil prices fall on easing Middle East fears
- 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
Stock markets mostly rise as rate hike worries ease
Stock markets mostly rose Wednesday as investors grew increasingly optimistic that the US Federal Reserve would soon end its interest-rate hiking cycle as inflation cools.
London surged 1.5 percent in midday deals, boosted additionally by data showing UK annual inflation slowed more than expected in June.
"Investors are taking the view that if inflation is on a sustained downward path, then the Bank of England might be less eager to keep pushing up interest rates," Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said following the British update.
"The market is desperate for that pivot moment where central banks call the end to the current rate-rise cycle."
With analysts expecting the Bank of England to now hike less aggressively than thought in the coming months, the pound slid Wednesday versus the dollar and euro.
"Inflation is now much lower than at the start of the year, but June's (inflation) reading is still considerably higher than the Bank of England's two-percent target.
"That means further rate hikes cannot be ruled out," Hewson added.
Another batch of forecast-topping earnings in New York added to the upbeat mood as the corporate earnings season gets under way, though worries over China's growth outlook cast a shadow.
Data last week, showing US inflation continued to fall towards the Fed's target, was among a series of indicators pointing to an economy that was slowing but still in rude health.
Reinforcing that view, the latest US readings showed retail sales rose less than expected in June, though that was offset by an upward revision for May, while industrial output also came in slightly below estimates.
However, traders looked past those figures to focus on news that earnings from Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Charles Schwab all topped estimates. That came after similarly positive reports from JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.
Markets were looking ahead to the Fed's policy meeting next week, where it is expected to hike rates once again, though the focus will be on its guidance for the future, with analysts debating whether it will hold or announce one more increase to borrowing costs this year.
- Key figures around 1100 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 1.5 percent at 7,567.42 points
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 16,146.52
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 7,349.22
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.2 percent at 4,379.69
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 32,896.03 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 18,952.31 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: FLAT at 3,198.84 (close)
New York - Dow: UP 1.1 percent at 34,951.93 (close)
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2927 from $1.3040
Euro/pound: UP at 86.82 pence from 86.13 pence
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1219 from $1.1235 on Tuesday
Dollar/yen: UP at 139.93 yen from 138.87 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.4 percent at $79.94 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $75.92 per barrel
M.P.Jacobs--CPN