- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- 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
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Stock markets drop before US inflation
Stock markets mostly fell Thursday looking ahead to key inflation data in the United States and as traders digested the country's inconclusive midterm election results as well as a cryptocurrency crisis.
US inflation numbers due Thursday will help markets to gauge the speed of future rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The dollar was mixed before the latest data.
"US growth looks still too strong to bring inflation down," noted Tapas Strickland of National Australia Bank.
"The ongoing resilience in the (consumer prices) data and stickiness in inflation continue to point to the Fed hiking rates closer to 5.0 percent or higher."
Rates currently stand at between 3.75 to 4.0 percent.
In US midterm elections, Republicans appeared likely to win a majority in the House of Representatives, but with a much smaller victory than they had hoped for -- and that pollsters forecast.
Markets are grappling also with the impact of strict zero-Covid measures in China, with supply chains and activity slowed by harsh lockdowns and testing policies.
"China's domestic demand is weak and their key trading partners are entering recession territory," said Edward Moya at OANDA trading group.
Oil prices fell Thursday, extending recent losses on weaker Chinese demand.
The crypto world has meanwhile been rocked by a surprise decision from Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency platform, to scrap a possible acquisition of rival FTX.com a day after disclosing it had signed a non-binding letter of intent to buy it.
The near-collapse of FTX has plunged bitcoin to a two-year low.
"FTX's slump from over a $32 billion valuation to zero in less than a few days raises numerous issues," said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.
"Prominent investors are wearing eggs on their faces after diving in head first."
He added that gold and silver would be the biggest beneficiaries of the crypto fallout with investors looking to the trusted precious metals for stability.
- Key figures around 1200 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,291.54 points
Frankfurt - DAX: FLAT at 13,667.53
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 6,401.60
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,725.10
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 27,446.10 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7 percent at 16,081.04 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,036.13 (close)
New York - Dow: DOWN 2.0 percent at 32,513.94 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $0.9945 from $1.0017 Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.1376 from $1.1352
Dollar/yen: UP at 146.49 yen from 146.37 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.42 pence from 88.19 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.6 percent at $85.33 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $92.29 per barrel
C.Peyronnet--CPN