- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Bosnia floods kill 14 people
- Tennis world number one Swiatek splits with coach Wiktorowski
European stock markets falter
European stock markets faltered Thursday following mixed showings by Asia and on Wall Street, as traders reacted to US Federal Reserve signals that it plans only one interest-rate cut this year.
Paris and Frankfurt were the biggest fallers, shedding more than one percent nearing the half-way stage, with investors continuing to track fallout from shock European Union elections at the weekend.
Oil prices were down nearly one percent, while the euro and pound steadied versus the dollar.
The European single currency has recovered from sharp losses in recent sessions, after French President Emmanuel Macron said he would not resign should his party lose a snap elections he called after its defeat to the far right in EU-wide polls.
In the United States, the Federal Reserve left its key lending rate unchanged on Wednesday and pencilled in just one rate cut this year, down from the three expected in March.
Despite US annual inflation dipping to 3.3 percent last month, the fall was below expectations, while the consumer price index remains a fair bit above the Fed's two-percent target.
"Fed chair Jerome Powell didn't give a huge amount away, although it felt telling that he was fairly cautious about the cooler-than-expected inflation figures from earlier in the day," noted AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
"The central bank is clear that it wants further signs inflation is on the path to the magic two-percent level before it is prepared to start cutting rates. One major sticking point being the continued tight labour market conditions."
Investors were also keeping an eye on the yen as the Bank of Japan started a two-day policy meeting, with speculation swirling that it is preparing the ground for a further tightening after lifting interest rates in March for the first time in 17 years.
Japan has been an outlier in recent years, deciding against raising interest rates to fight high inflation. And just as major central banks are looking to cut borrowing costs, the BoJ has decided to start hiking.
- Key figures around 1100 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 8,174.59 points
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.4 percent at 7,758.67
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.1 percent at 18,424.88
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.1 percent at 4,981.29
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 38,720.47 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.0 percent at 18,112.63 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,028.92 (close)
New York - Dow Jones: DOWN 0.1 percent at 38,712.21 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0800 from $1.0811 on Wednesday
Euro/pound: UP at 84.53 pence from 84.45 pence
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2777 from $1.2797
Dollar/yen: UP at 157.18 yen from 156.86 yen
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.8 percent at $77.86 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.8 percent at $81.94 per barrel
burs-bcp/rfj/lth
T.Batista--PC