- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs
- What are proteins again? Nobel-winning chemistry explained
- AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins
- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
- Demis Hassabis, from chess prodigy to Nobel-winning AI pioneer
- Global stocks diverge as Chinese shares tumble
- Time runs out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Chad issues warning ahead of more devastating floods
- Creator's death no bar to new 'Dragon Ball' products
- Chinese stocks tumble on lack of fresh stimulus
- Trio wins chemistry Nobel for protein design, prediction
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
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US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
Shares slipped in New York and Europe Thursday as the latest US inflation report strengthened the case for a slower pace of interest rate cuts.
All three major US Wall Street indexes were lower in early trading, after the Dow and the wider S&P 500 had chalked up all-time highs Wednesday.
In Europe, Paris and Frankfurt were lower in mid-afternoon trading while London was little changed.
Earlier in the day, Chinese stock markets returned to winning ways, closing with solid gains after China's central bank took action to boost purchases of company shares.
As measured by the consumer prices index, US annual inflation slowed to 2.4 percent in September from 2.5 percent in August, the government reported.
But a core measure of inflation that strips out volatile food and energy costs rose to 3.3 percent from 3.2 percent in August.
Both figures were faster than what analysts had expected, and combined with a strong US jobs report last week, they strengthen the case for the US Federal Reserve to make only small reductions to its lending rates.
"The latest CPI figures are hardly a disaster, but after a far stronger-than-expected jobs report last week, many are questioning the Fed's decision to cut by 50 basis points last month," said Bret Kenwell, analyst at eToro.
"The two reports have all but taken another 50 basis point cut off the table next month, while some could argue that it rules out a rate cut of any kind in November."
However, there was some contradictory news Thursday, with the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week jumping to 258,000, the highest level in a year.
Analysts warned the often-volatile statistic could have been distorted by hurricanes across the south-east of the country.
"These rising claims suggest some softening in the labour market, though after a blowout nonfarm payrolls report last week, not many people are too sure about a softening labour market," said Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at Forex.com and City Index.
"More data is needed for many investors to form strong opinions about the direction of US jobs market and thus interest rates."
In London on Thursday, shares in GSK jumped more than five percent after the British pharmaceutical company agreed to pay $2.3 billion in the United States to end lawsuits alleging that its Zantac heartburn drug caused cancer.
Earlier in the day, Shanghai's stock market closed 1.3 percent higher Thursday and Hong Kong rose 3.0 percent.
Hong Kong and mainland markets whipsawed this week as the euphoria over China's recent moves to boost its economy was dampened by a news conference that failed to unveil more measures or give details on those already announced.
On Thursday, however, investors welcomed news that the People's Bank of China had released details of a "swap facility" that will allow "qualified securities, funds and insurance companies" to access more than $70 billion in liquidity to purchase equities.
Oil prices jumped around 1.5 percent as volatility continued to dominate the crude market, with prices rising after Israel's defence minister pledging that his country will strike Iran in retaliation for last week's missile attack.
- Key figures around 1345 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 42,412.55 points
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.3 percent at 5,776.49
New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 18,220.67
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 3,301.93 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 3.0 percent at 21,251.98 (close)
London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 8,241.93
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,540.33
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.2 percent at 19,213.17
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 39,380.89 (close)
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.4 percent at $77.64 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.4 percent at $74.28 per barrel
Euro/dollar: UP at 1.0943 from $1.0940 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UNCHANGED at $1.3063
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 148.69 yen from 149.35 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 83.79 pence from 83.72 pence
J.Bondarev--CPN