Star Metro - Wall Street opens higher but European stocks lag

Asian markets were hurt by China's economic woes.

Global equities had rebounded Thursday in choppy trade as investors assessed the outlook for US Federal Reserve interest rates and as tech giants clawed back recent losses.

"The first half of Friday’s session has been dominated by a 'risk-on' theme, with US futures rising following Thursday’s big rally that lifted the Nasdaq 100 to a fresh record," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at FOREX.com.

US equities are being lifted by positive earnings reports and renewed interest in high-tech stocks, said Briefing.com.

"Gains in tech stocks and AI optimism helped the Nasdaq hit a record high overnight, overshadowing cooling rate cut bets," City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta told AFP.

"This is more about market mood than a change in fundamentals."

New York's gains were largely driven by a surge in tech giants including Apple, Nvidia and Amazon after chip titan Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co unveiled a strong outlook for capital spending and revenue that boosted hopes for 2024 and as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted on Instagram that the company is purchasing AI products.

Those gains came despite fresh figures Thursday showing a surprise slowdown in jobless claims, suggesting the Federal Reserve would likely have to keep rates elevated for some time to make sure inflation does not pop back up.

European equities initially moved higher on Friday but most indexes later gave up those gains over continued concerns that central banks will delay interest rate cuts and as investors continued to digest news of Germany's shrinking economic output.

"Stocks in Europe are set to fall across the week as investors dialled back rate cut expectations," Cincotta said.

"While the market reassesses expectations for central bank rate cuts, the recent volatility in the markets is likely to continue."

Tokyo stocks put on more than one percent thanks to the weaker yen as data showing slower Japanese inflation eased pressure on the country's central bank to shift away from its ultra-loose monetary policy.

However, worries over China's economy continued to weigh on Shanghai and Hong Kong, which extended the year's losses.

Data this week out of Beijing showing GDP growth at its weakest since 1990, outside the pandemic years, added to concerns officials are not doing enough to provide support.

- Key figures around 1430 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 37,508.84 points

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 4,789.34

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 15,117.18

London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 7,459.31

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,360.70

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 16,526.69

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2 percent at 4,444.49

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.4 percent at 35,963.27 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.5 percent at 15,308.69 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 2,832.28 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0875 from $1.0883 on Thursday

Dollar/yen: UP at 148.34 yen from 148.16 yen

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2670 from $1.2676

Euro/pound: UNCHANGED at 85.84 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $74.54 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $79.49 per barrel

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O.Martin--SMC