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- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- 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
Stocks rally on cooler US inflation, before ECB rate call
Europe's main stock markets rallied Thursday following some strong gains in Asia and on Wall Street thanks to big uplifts for tech shares after data showed US inflation cooling further.
Investors were awaiting an expected cut in eurozone interest rates from the European Central Bank later in the day, ahead of a reduction from the US Federal Reserve next week as consumer-price rises return to relatively normal levels.
"Today sees traders turn their attention to European affairs, with the ECB expected to cut rates for just the second time in five-years," noted Joshua Mahony, analyst at traders Scope Markets.
"With markets essentially viewing a 25-basis point cut as a foregone conclusion, much of the day's focus will be on the outlook for the pace of easing going forward."
The euro steadied against the dollar ahead of the decision.
A US inflation reading Wednesday allowed investors to breathe a sigh of relief after a tough couple of weeks that have been filled with worries about the world's top economy, as a weak run of jobs figures stoked recession fears.
The Nasdaq closed up more than two percent Wednesday and the S&P 500 more than one percent.
The rally was fuelled by a big jump in the tech sector, with chip titan Nvidia rocketing more than eight percent.
And the positive mood flowed through to Asia, where Tokyo led gainers and jumped more than three percent after seven days of losses.
London, Paris and Frankfurt gained around one percent approaching the half-way mark in European trade.
The Fed is yet to cut borrowing costs after central banks around the world hiked aggressively when inflation soared as nations emerged from Covid lockdowns and following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
This is in contrast to the European Central Bank, which on Thursday is widely expected to reduce eurozone interest rates for a second time in three months.
In the US, bets are surging on a 25-basis-point reduction, with talk of a 50-point shift muted by figures showing that core inflation on the consumer price index had seen an unexpected uptick.
A report on US wholesale prices due Thursday could provide more insight into the Fed's thinking.
Wednesday's "stronger than expected core CPI for August will no doubt weaken the case for a 50 basis point cut", Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Carol Kong told AFP.
"The inflation and labour market data are in line with a soft landing scenario in the US economy, rather than a recession. As such, we stick to our call for a 25 basis point cut next week."
- Key figures around 1045 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 8,260.43 points
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 7,462.28
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.2 percent at 18,55797
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 3.4 percent at 36,833.27 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 17,240.39 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 2,717.12 (close)
New York - Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 40,861.71 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1021 from $1.1018 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3053 from $1.3046
Euro/pound: UNCHANGED at 84.43 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 142.71 yen from 142.38 yen
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.6 percent at $71.74 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.6 percent at $68.37 per barrel
J.V.Jacinto--PC