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McKeown delivers more Aussie gold as Ireland's Wiffen makes history
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Late-night 'pow-wow' cleared path to Olympic gold for Biles and US
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Microsoft cloud unit miss dulls bright earnings
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Nadal having 'fun' in Olympic dream team with Alcaraz
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Solar storms could cause more auroras
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Murray's career stays alive with another dramatic Olympics win
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Australia's McKeown roars back to retain 100m backstroke gold
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Wiffen makes Irish history with Olympic 800m freestyle gold
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Venezuelans rally to support opposition after disputed vote
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France set up Argentina showdown in men's Olympic football
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El Chapo's son pleads not guilty to drugs charges: prosecutor
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Brilliant Biles leads USA to Olympic women's team gold
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Nadal keeps Olympic flame burning as tearful Gauff exits
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Biles leads USA to dominant gymnastics gold as Olympic chiefs left to sweat
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Weather forces postponement of Olympic surfing
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Suryakumar's bowling heroics help India to Super Over T20 win
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Gymnastics great Biles leads USA to Olympic women's team gold
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Child knife deaths plunge sleepy UK town into 'sadness and misery'
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New Zealand come from behind to retain Olympic sevens title
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Nadal, Alcaraz keep Olympic dream alive
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French D-Day veteran dies aged 105: presidency
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Texas says Meta to pay $1.4 bn to settle photo-tagging lawsuit
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Israel targets Hezbollah commander in south Beirut strike
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England rising star Atkinson feels need for more speed
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UN lifts territorial arms embargo on C.Africa
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French D-Day veteran dies ages 105: presidency
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Paris Olympics athletes and fans melt in 'brutal' heat
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Biles chases first gold of Olympics as triathlon postponed
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US Senate passes first major child online safety bills in years
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Everton sign Ireland centre-back O'Brien from Lyon
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P&G eyes overall sales growth despite China weakness
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Activists celebrate LGBTQ Olympians in 'city of all loves'
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With Games in full swing, opening ceremony controversy simmers on
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Airbus first-half net profit halved to 825 mn euros
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Sri Lanka limit India to 137-9 in third T20
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Zheng Qinwen blasted as 'cut-throat' with 'no respect' at Olympics
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Carbon credits 'ineffective', says corporate climate watchdog
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Palhinha cherishing 'second chance' with Bayern move
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Hayes to make London return as USA face England in Wembley women's friendly
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108 killed after landslides strike India tea estates
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As Russia punches forward, Ukraine's Toretsk living in 'hell'
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Schauffele says Olympic gold 'very different' to major wins
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Harris targets battleground Georgia with rapper's help
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TikTok star Maher 'supercharging' US Olympic rugby sevens
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Solar storms could cause more auroras on Tuesday night
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Israel, Hezbollah exchange fire amid calls for restraint after Golan attack
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Australia will be 'well organised', warns Springboks coach Erasmus
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Southampton sign Brereton Diaz on four-year deal
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Celestial mixes: Portugal's star DJ priest
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Tearful Gauff dumped out of Olympics after on-court row as Nadal returns
Markets track Wall St records after Powell hints at rate cut
Asian and European stocks on Thursday tagged along with a Wall Street rally that saw another round of record highs as bets on a September interest rate hike surged following comments by Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell.
The advances also saw Hong Kong and Shanghai push higher after struggling in recent weeks over worries about the Chinese economy, with investors awaiting a key Communist Party meeting next week.
On a second day of testimony to lawmakers, Powell said decision-makers would not wait until inflation had hit the bank's two percent target before loosening monetary policy, adding: "If you waited that long, you've probably waited too long."
His remarks came before the release of the latest consumer price index reading on Thursday, which is expected to show a further slowdown.
Traders ramped up bets on the Fed reducing borrowing costs in two months' time, with analysts saying Powell was telegraphing to markets that the decision had been made.
The comments soothed recent fears among investors that officials might keep rates at their two-decade high for some time owing to a still strong labour market and inflation staying stubbornly above two percent.
The S&P 500 ended with a sixth straight record, while the Nasdaq also finished at an all-time peak.
And the upbeat mood filtered through to Asia, where Hong Kong jumped two percent, while Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok and Wellington also rose.
London rose in the morning as data showed the UK economy grew last month at a faster pace than expected. Paris and Frankfurt also advanced.
Eyes are also turning to the start of China's Third Plenum gathering on Monday, where top officials including President Xi Jinping are expected to discuss ways to kickstart the world's number two economy in the face of an ongoing property crisis and geopolitical issues.
However, while there is hope for some sort of major policy announcement, commentators remain cautious.
Andrew Batson, of Beijing-based consultancy Gavekal Dragonomics, told AFP he did not expect a "fundamental departure from the course Xi has already laid out", in which technological self-sufficiency and national security outweigh economic growth.
Nomura's Ting Lu added that the meeting was "intended to generate and discuss big, long-term ideas and structural reforms instead of making short-term policy adjustments".
Economic growth in the first quarter of the year came in above forecasts and is tipped to top the government's five percent goal for April-June, but the meeting comes amid ongoing concerns that officials are not providing enough support.
Taylor Nugent at National Australia Bank warned: "Further monetary policy easing is constrained by a reluctance to allow further depreciation in the renminbi, and expectations are low for any big policy shift at the Third Plenum."
- Key figures around 0820 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.9 percent at 42,224.02 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.1 percent at 17,832.33 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 2,970.39 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,203.47
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0838 from $1.0833 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2867 from $1.2848
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 161.62 yen from 161.71 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.23 pence from 84.29 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $82.55 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $85.57 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 1.1 percent at 39,721.36 (close)
E.Borba--PC