- 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
Markets mixed as rate hopes play against China fears
Markets were mixed Thursday as hopes that central banks are close to ending their interest rate hikes were offset by worries about a lack of action by Chinese leaders to kickstart the country's stuttering economy.
The mood across trading floors has been generally positive of late, with last week's news that US inflation had slowed more than expected coming alongside healthy data suggesting a recession could also be avoided.
That was compounded by a surprisingly low UK inflation reading Wednesday.
The figures have fanned hopes that the long-running campaign of rate hikes was kicking in and policymakers in Washington and London could tap the brakes.
Comments from a top European Central Bank official this week indicated a similar outlook in Frankfurt.
The Fed is tipped to lift rates at its meeting next week but expectations are that it will stop after that, although there is still debate about whether it will announce another later in the year.
"With inflation easing and odds for a soft landing rising, investors may adopt an 'it could have been worse mood', so perhaps it's unlikely risk sentiment will drift too far askew," said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.
He added that came "especially given the less hawkish implications the global inflation reset will have on central bank interest rates".
Wall Street provided a healthy lead as the Dow chalked up an eighth straight advance, though disappointing earnings from tech titans Netflix and Tesla after the market closed dented sentiment.
Asia began on the front foot but many markets lost momentum as the day went on.
Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Bangkok and Wellington fell, though there were small gains in Sydney, Mumbai, Singapore, Manila and Jakarta.
London rose at the open but Paris and Frankfurt edged down.
Analysts remained cautious and warned the road ahead could still be bumpy for investors.
"The risk of recession has receded dramatically," Neil Dutta, at Renaissance Macro Research, told Bloomberg Television.
"I think the markets are right to allocate a little bit more to the soft-landing story, but I think you can make a good case that maybe we're getting a little bit over our skis here and we should probably put some more potential on the resurgence of the inflationary-boom scenario."
A lot of the unease on trading floors is centred on China's troubled economy, with the recovery from years of zero-Covid appearing to have shuddered to a halt, with the threat of deflation lingering.
A report earlier this week showed growth came in a lot lower than expected owing to a drop in consumer activity and following figures pointing to weak demand for the country's goods overseas.
And investors are growing anxious for Beijing to set measures to reinvigorate growth, with very little concrete coming out so far, apart from some small interest rate hikes and some pledges to aid the property sector.
- Key figures around 0715 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.2 percent at 32,490.52 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 18,917.54
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,169.52 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 7,608.92
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2912 from $1.2937 on Wednesday
Euro/pound: UP at 86.85 pence from 86.59 pence
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1216 from $1.1204
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 139.42 yen from 139.71 yen
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $75.34 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.1 percent at $79.50 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 35,061.21 (close)
Y.Ponomarenko--CPN