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DR Congo sentences 25 soldiers to death for 'fleeing the enemy': lawyer
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Sinner, Alcaraz move on at Wimbledon as Osaka slumps on Centre Court return
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'Lucky' Sinner defeats big-hitting Berrettini to reach Wimbledon third round
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Messi a doubt for Argentina ahead of Copa quarter-final
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British tennis ace Raducanu votes for 'lie-in' on election day
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France film director Jacquot charged with raping two actors
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Israel 'evaluating' new Hamas 'ideas' on halting Gaza war
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Venezuela, US agree to 'improve relations,' says Caracas
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Under-fire Kenya govt says to review state salary hikes
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Thousands told to flee raging California wildfire
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Osaka focuses on Olympics after Wimbledon KO
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Tens of thousands flee south Gaza as tensions soar
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US Fed officials stressed 'patience' on rate cuts: minutes
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Blond not bombs as Fognini learns to love Wimbledon
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New lithium plant inaugurated in Argentina
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Threads hits 175 mn users on first anniversary
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French court says Netflix shark hit can keep streaming in copycat row
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Comeback king 'Cav' to carry on doing the thing he loves
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Alcaraz marches on at Wimbledon as Osaka returns to Centre Court
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Biden under pressure as Democratic panic rises
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Belarus frees 'some political prisoners': exiled opposition leader
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Alcaraz coasts into Wimbledon third round
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Cavendish makes Tour de France history with 35th stage win
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Everton sign forward Ndiaye from Marseille
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Bailed Indian opposition leader to return as chief minister
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World's oldest artwork discovered in Indonesian cave
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Toney urges England to kick on after Euros reprieve
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Murray teams up with Raducanu in Wimbledon mixed doubles
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Former England rugby coach Jack Rowell dies aged 87
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Hurricane Beryl bears down on Jamaica
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US trade deficit expands less than expected in May: govt
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'The god took away my son': Indians grieve after deadly stampede
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Moscow hit by heat not seen in over a century
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US private hiring eases unexpectedly in June: ADP
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Confident Kroos says Germany-Spain clash 'won't be my last game'
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Paris bars to open 24h for Olympics opening ceremony
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Putin, Xi vie for influence at Central Asian summit
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Germany, Sweden arrest eight over Syria crimes against humanity
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French giant Mpetshi Perricard joins Wimbledon heavy artillery
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Two-time Major winner Langer to make 'emotional' European Tour bow
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French PM urges united front to stop far-right takeover
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Olympic silver medallist gymnast Poujade dies at 51
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Bhole Baba: preacher at centre of Indian stampede disaster
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Microsoft to invest 2.2 bn euros in Spain data centres
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Showdowns, young guns and own goals as Euro 2024 head into quarter-finals
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Russia advances in east, kills five in Dnipro strikes
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France prosecutors request rape charges against film director
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Schumacher blackmail suspects had 'family photos'
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EU clears Lufthansa's proposed ITA Airways stake, with conditions
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Indian World Cup winners head home after hurricane delay
European bourses fall amid political unease; Nasdaq ends at new record
Stock markets mostly retreated on Thursday as traders reacted to political uncertainty in Europe and the US Federal Reserve's plan to only cut interest rates once this year.
European stocks closed firmly in the red, Paris and Frankfurt shedding around two percent each as investors continued to track fallout from far-right gains in last weekend's EU elections.
Returns were better on Wall Street, where both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished at fresh records following lower wholesale prices The Dow finished narrowly lower.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve left its key lending rate unchanged and penciled in just one rate cut this year, down from the three expected in March.
In France, the European Union's second-largest economy, President Emmanuel Macron is under pressure ahead of snap elections he called after a drubbing by the far right in EU-wide polls.
"Yesterday's cautious Fed meeting and ongoing political worries in Europe continue to put pressure on equity markets generally," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG.
The early French legislative elections called for June 30 and July 7 "have sent investors scurrying from European stocks", he added.
The brighter performance by the Nasdaq index shows that "the technology sector remains the primary driver of market performance", according to FOREX.com market analyst Fawad Razaqzada.
"One has to wonder how much further the sector can hold up the market."
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 them.
Among individual companies, Broadcom surged 12.3 percent as it lifted its full-year forecast on strong demand for artificial intelligence programs. The chip company also announced a ten-for-one stocks split.
Tesla rose 2.9 percent after CEO Elon Musk said shareholders backed his proposed compensation plan of up to $56 billion, as well as a transfer of the carmaker's place of incorporation from Delaware to Texas.
Markets had viewed a defeat as a potential negative for Tesla if Musk had chosen to exit the company.
- Key figures around 2010 GMT -
New York - Dow Jones: DOWN 0.2 percent at 38,647.10 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 5,433.74 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.3 percent at 17,667.56 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 8,163.67 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 2.0 percent at 7,708.02 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 2.0 percent at 18,265.68 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 2.0 percent at 4,935.50 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0746 from $1.0809 on Wednesday
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.15 pence from 84.45 pence
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2766 from $1.2798
Dollar/yen: UP at 157.03 yen from 156.72 yen
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $78.62 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $82.75 per barrel
burs-jmb
L.Mesquita--PC