- Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force
- Thousands attend Christmas charity dinner in Buenos Aires
- Demand for Japanese content booms post 'Shogun'
- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun
- Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Global stocks mostly rise after US tech rally
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
- Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
- US panel could not reach consensus on US-Japan steel deal: Nippon
- The real-life violence that inspired South Korea's 'Squid Game'
- El Salvador Congress votes to end ban on metal mining
- Five things to know about Panama Canal, in Trump's sights
- Mixed day for global stocks as market hopes for 'Santa Claus rally'
- Trump's TikTok love raises stakes in battle over app's fate
- European, US markets wobble awaiting Santa rally
- NASA solar probe to make its closest ever pass of Sun
- Volkswagen boss hails cost-cutting deal but shares fall
- Sweden says China blocked prosecutors' probe of ship linked to cut cables
- UK economy stagnant in third quarter in fresh setback
- Global stock markets edge higher as US inflation eases rate fears
- US probes China chip industry on 'anticompetitive' concerns
- Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience
- Honda and Nissan to launch merger talks
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate fears
- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Beyond Work Unveils Next-Generation Memory-Augmented AI Agent (MATRIX) for Enterprise Document Intelligence
- Sweet smell of success for niche perfumes
- 'Finally, we made it!': Ho Chi Minh City celebrates first metro
- Tunisia women herb harvesters struggle with drought and heat
- Trump threatens to take back control of Panama Canal
- Secretive game developer codes hit 'Balatro' in Canadian prairie province
- Stellantis backtracks on plan to lay off 1,100 at US Jeep plant
- Banned Russian skater Valieva stars at Moscow ice gala
- Biden signs funding bill to avert government shutdown
- Sorrow and fury in German town after Christmas market attack
- France's most powerful nuclear reactor finally comes on stream
- Sierra Leone student tackles toxic air pollution
- Amazon says US strike caused 'no disruptions'
- Qualcomm scores key win in licensing dispute with Arm
- Scientists observe 'negative time' in quantum experiments
- US approves first drug treatment for sleep apnea
- Amazon expects no disruptions as US strike goes into 2nd day
- US confirms billions in chips funds to Samsung, Texas Instruments
- Wall Street rebounds despite US inflation ticking higher
Global stocks mostly fall as US Treasury yields climb
Global stocks mostly fell Thursday as markets digested fresh central bank decisions and a rebound effort on Wall Street faded while US Treasury bond yields climbed further.
US indices bounced early in the day, but the attempted rally faded as the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rose above 4.5 percent. The Fed on Wednesday lowered interest rates but signaled it expects fewer interest rate cuts in 2025.
Thursday's move in stocks is "kind of a lackluster recovery effort," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
"A lot of good news has been priced into this market," he said. "And now the market is going to sit back and see if a lot of that good news that's priced in actually comes to fruition."
While major US indices finished little changed, equity markets in Europe and Asia retreated.
The Bank of England held its key interest rate steady due to UK inflation rising again, and it did not commit to when or by how much it would cut rates in 2025.
While that decision was widely expected, more BoE policymakers voted for a cut, which sent the pound falling against the dollar and the euro.
The split suggests "members may be more nervous about the state of the economy than originally thought," said Daniela Sabin Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.
The yen fell against the dollar after the Bank of Japan left borrowing costs unchanged and warned of uncertainty over the economic policies of US President-elect Donald Trump.
BoJ governor Kazuo Ueda told reporters after its announcement that officials would hike interest rates if prices and the Japanese economy develop as they expect.
He warned that "uncertainty surrounding economic policies by the upcoming (Trump) administration is high, so I believe we will need to size up the possible effect."
"The upcoming administration's financial, trade and immigration policies have the potential not only to affect the US economy and prices but also significantly impact the global economy" and financial markets, Ueda said.
The rate decisions by Britain's and Japan's central bank were the last of the year.
"With the major risk events of the week behind us, the question remains: will the traditional Santa rally take hold, or will 2024 mark a departure from the norm?" asked City Index and FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.
Markets often drift higher at the end of the year when small investors influenced by the holidays dominate trading in what is often called a "Santa rally."
A possible US government shutdown could spoil a Santa rally, but investors appeared unfazed on Thursday.
President-elect Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk urged Republican lawmakers to scupper a cross-party deal to avert a halt in non-essential US government operations in the early hours of Saturday.
But Trump announced on social media Thursday afternoon that Republicans had come up with a new funding package to avert a shutdown.
- Key figures around 2130 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP less than 0.1 percent at 42,342.24 (close)
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 5,867.08 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 19,372.77 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.1 percent at 8,105.32 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.2 percent at 7,294.37 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.4 percent at 19,969.86 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 38,813.58 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.6 percent at 19,752.51 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,370.03 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0364 from $1.0353
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2496 from $1.2574
Dollar/yen: UP at 157.35 yen from 156.87 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 82.91 pence from 82.33 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $72.88 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.0 percent at $69.91 per barrel
burs-jmb/aha
Ch.Lefebvre--CPN