- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Oil extends gains, jobs report lifts Wall Street
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Oil extends gains, Hong Kong stocks resume rally
- 'A man provides': Ukrainian miners send families away as Russia advances
- EU states greenlight extra tariffs on EVs from China
- Hong Kong stocks resume rally, oil dips after Middle East-fuelled surge
- Crude stable after Israel-Iran surge, Hong Kong stocks resume gains
- Hera spacecraft to probe asteroid deflected by defence test
- US dockworkers to head back to work after tentative deal
- After Helene's destruction, North Carolina starts to rebuild
- Dockers end three-day strike at Montreal port
- What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?
- Israel-Hamas war causes 86-percent dive in Gaza GDP: IMF
- Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
- Relief in Brazil, Asia over delay to EU deforestation rules
- Oil prices jump, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Biden says 'discussing' possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
- Oil prices rise, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Oil rallies, stocks mostly retreat on Middle East tensions
- Phasing out teen smoking could save 1.2 mn lives: study
- 'Welcome relief': Asia producers hail EU deforestation law delay
- Japan PM slated to announce plans for 'happiness index'
- Turkish inflation falls less than expected in September at 49.4%
- Easing inflation lifts profit at UK supermarket Tesco
- Skiing calls on UN climate science to combat melting future
- China wine industry looks to breed climate resilience
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong drops after surge
- Dutch airline KLM unveils 'firm' cost-cutting measures
- Carpe diem: the Costa Rican women turning fish into fashion
- Senegal looks to aquaculture as fish stocks dwindle
- Will AI one day win a Nobel Prize?
- Climate change, economics muddy West's drive to curb Chinese EVs
- Argentina's Milei vetoes university budget after huge protests
- TotalEnergies plans to grow oil and gas production until 2030
- 2024 Nobels offer glimmer of hope as global crises mount
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong reverses after surge
- Tunisia readies for vote as incumbent Saied eyes victory
- High childcare costs in US weigh on women's employment
- US voters seek help with crushing childcare costs
- Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land
- Supercharged storms: how climate change amplifies cyclones
- Biden official urges talks as US port strike enters second day
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Stocks jump on easing US inflation
Global stock markets bounced on Wednesday as better-than-expected US inflation data raised hopes that the US Federal Reserve will tone down its aggressive interest rate policy.
With energy costs dropping in recent weeks, the US consumer price index eased to an annual rate of 8.5 percent in July from a 40-year high of 9.1 percent the previous month, the Labor Department reported.
Signs that inflation could be coming off the boil in the world's biggest economy could persuade the US Fed to tighten monetary conditions much more gradually than first anticipated.
Investors had been worried that too steep an increase in borrowing costs could choke off economic recovery.
Wall Street opened sharply higher while the dollar took a tumble.
European stock markets were up in afternoon trading after falling earlier in the day.
"The slowdown in US inflation was anticipated, but was sharper than economists had expected," said Asteres analyst Sylvain Bersinger. "Softer US inflation will brake the interest rate hikes."
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare agreed.
"The key takeaway from the report is that it supports the peak inflation view, which in turn supports the market's hope that the Fed will temper its aggressive rate-hike approach in coming months," he wrote.
The data on Wednesday come at a sensitive time for world markets, which have been buffeted by the war in Ukraine, supply chain snarls and rising China-US tensions over Taiwan.
- Oil down -
While the latest earnings season has been less painful than feared, there are increasing signs that the economic slowdown is beginning to impact companies, with some major firms -- including Apple and Amazon -- providing downbeat outlooks.
Chip-maker Micron became the latest, saying revenue would likely come in at the low end of its forecasts in the fourth quarter owing to weak demand.
A day before, rival Nvidia unveiled disappointing results.
On the oil markets, crude prices remain stuck around six-month lows, even after news that supplies from Russia to three European countries through Ukraine had been halted as sanctions prohibited the processing of the transit payment.
Crude oil prices have essentially wiped out all the gains seen since Russia's invasion of its neighbour in February as expectations of a recession hit demand forecasts.
But Edward Moya, analyst at OANDA trading group, said the market would not likely weaken further.
"Whatever crude demand destruction that occurs from a weakening global economy won't be able to drag down oil prices much lower given how low the supply outlook remains," he said.
- Key figures at around 1400 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 1.5 percent at 33,271.47 points
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,491.52
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.9 percent at 13,654.70
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.5 percent at 6,520.80
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.1 percent at 3,653.17
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 27,819.33 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.0 percent at 19,610.84 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 3,230.02 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0321 from $1.0213 Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2225 from $1.2071
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.42 pence from 84.57 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 132.62 yen from 135.12 yen
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.1 percent at $89.55 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.1 percent at $95.25 per barrel
burs-spm/lth
D.Avraham--CPN