
-
Is Musk's political career descending to Earth?
-
On Mexico-US border, Trump's 'Liberation Day' brings fears for future
-
Starbucks faces new hot spill lawsuit weeks after $50mn ruling
-
Ally of Pope Francis elected France's top bishop
-
'Determined' Buttler leads Gujarat to IPL win over Bengaluru
-
US judge dismisses corruption case against New York mayor
-
Left-wing party pulls ahead in Greenland municipal elections
-
Blistering Buttler leads Gujarat to IPL win over Bengaluru
-
Tesla sales slump as pressure piles on Musk
-
Amazon makes last-minute bid for TikTok: report
-
Canada Conservative leader warns Trump could break future trade deal
-
British band Muse cancels planned Istanbul gig
-
'I'll be back' vows Haaland after injury blow
-
Trump to unveil 'Liberation Day' tariffs as world braces
-
New coach Edwards adamant England can win women's cricket World Cup
-
Military confrontation 'almost inevitable' if Iran nuclear talks fail: French FM
-
US stocks advance ahead of looming Trump tariffs
-
Scramble for food aid in Myanmar city near quake epicentre
-
American Neilson Powless fools Visma to win Across Flanders
-
NATO chief says alliance with US 'there to stay'
-
Myanmar junta declares quake ceasefire as survivors plead for aid
-
American Neilson Powless fools Visma to win Around Flanders
-
Tesla first quarter sales sink amid anger over Musk politics
-
World's tiniest pacemaker is smaller than grain of rice
-
Judge dismisses corruption case against NY mayor
-
Nintendo to launch Switch 2 console on June 5
-
France Le Pen eyes 2027 vote, says swift appeal 'good news'
-
Postecoglou hopes Pochettino gets Spurs return wish
-
US, European stocks fall as looming Trump tariffs raise fears
-
Nintendo says Switch 2 console to be launched on June 5
-
France's Zemmour fined 10,000 euros over claim WWII leader 'saved' Jews
-
Le Pen ally denies planned rally a 'power play' against conviction
-
Letsile Tebogo says athletics saved him from life of crime
-
Man Utd 'on right track' despite 13th Premier League defeat: Dalot
-
Israel says expanding Gaza offensive to seize 'large areas'
-
Certain foreign firms must 'self-certify' with Trump diversity rules: US embassies
-
Deutsche Bank asset manager DWS fined 25 mn euros for 'greenwashing'
-
UK drawing up new action plan to tackle rising TB
-
Nigerian president sacks board of state oil company
-
Barca never had financial room to register Olmo: La Liga
-
Spain prosecutors to appeal ruling overturning Alves' rape conviction
-
Heathrow 'warned about power supply' days before shutdown
-
Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre 'stable' after car crash
-
Myanmar quake survivors plead for more help
-
Greece to spend 25 bn euros in 'drastic' defence overhaul: PM
-
Maresca non-committal over Sancho's future at Chelsea
-
WHO facing $2.5-bn gap even after slashing budget: report
-
Real Madrid coach Ancelotti tells tax trial did not seek to defraud
-
Chinese tourists pine for Taiwan's return as Beijing jets surround island
-
Singapore detains teenage boy allegedly planning to kill Muslims

Stocks end higher as attention turns to interest rates
Global stock markets glided to a generally positive finish on Wednesday as investors turned their attention to central bank monetary policy in the eurozone and Britain later this week.
Most of the major European indices still managed to end the session in positive territory, while Wall Street posted decent gains for the fourth straight session after rough weeks of trading in January.
In Europe, London's FTSE closed 0.6 percent higher and the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.2 percent, but Frankfurt's DAX ended flat.
The Dow finished trading with a 0.6 percent gain, while the Nasdaq saw a similar increase and the S&P 500 performed more strongly, rising 0.9 percent.
Karl Haeling of LBBW attributed the gains to a feeling that the January market sell-off had gone overboard.
"The market was due for a rally," he said in an interview.
Also helping sentiment were recent indications from the Federal Reserve that while it is likely to hike interest rates in March to curb inflation, it won't deploy aggressive tactics, such as hiking twice as much as it usually does in a given meeting.
"I do think that less hawkish commentary from the Fed officials this week have certainly helped calm some concerns," Haeling said.
Oil prices rose after the OPEC+ oil producers group stuck to its guns and increased output only modestly despite the price of crude soaring to multi-year highs recently. But prices retreated by the close of New York trading.
"The news was hardly surprising, as the group has rigidly followed this approach since it was first agreed upon, even in December when oil prices plunged following the emergence of Omicron," said Edward Gardner, commodities expert at Capital Economics.
Attention now turns to the European Central Bank and the Bank of England as they hold their regular policy meetings on Thursday, events that will be closely watched by investors.
While the guardian of the euro is widely expected to hold borrowing costs unchanged, analysts are predicting the UK central bank will tighten policy for the second meeting in a row in a bid to rein in soaring inflation.
- Off the boil -
In Asia, investors appeared to be less worried about the Fed's plans to tighten monetary policy, while strong corporate results lifted optimism about the outlook.
And while there remains plenty of volatility and uncertainty on trading floors owing to geopolitical tensions and the Omicron spread, analysts remain upbeat for the year.
Some Asian markets were closed due to the Lunar New Year break, but those that opened -- Tokyo, Sydney, Wellington, Jakarta and Manila -- all gained more than one percent.
After a difficult January, world stock markets have enjoyed a strong start to February as investors hunt for bargains, according to analysts.
As well as the ECB and BoE meetings, traders are waiting for the publication of US jobs data Friday for the latest snapshot of the health of the world's biggest economy.
The dollar has come off the boil against its main rivals after recent strong gains on expectations of aggressive Fed interest rate hikes to combat soaring inflation.
- Key figures around 2120 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 35,629.33 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.9 percent at 4,589.38 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.5 percent at 14,417.55 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,583.00 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.04 percent at 15,613.77 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,115.27 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,222.05 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.7 percent at 27,533.60 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: Closed for a holiday
Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1304 from $1.1269 late Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3573 from $1.3519
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.28 pence from 83.33 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 114.42 yen from 114.67 yen
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $89.47 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $88.26 per barrel
burs-spm/imm/cs/hs
M.Robinson--AT