- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- 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
Shares in Tesla and airlines take off
US and European stock markets rose on Thursday, with Tesla shooting higher after the electric carmaker reported record profits and airline shares soaring as the travel outlook brightened.
Tesla shares climbed over six percent after the company reported a new record in quarterly profits of $3.3 billion on Wednesday.
Moreover, Elon Musk's high-flying firm said its 2022 output plan was on track despite ongoing supply chain problems and a hit from recent Covid-19 lockdown measures in China.
While many carmakers have been hobbled by a lack of semiconductors, Musk said it "seems likely" the company will produce more than 1.5 million vehicles in 2022, which would be above the company's long-term target of at least 50 percent output growth.
"If consumer spending is holding up well enough for Tesla to keep reporting decent numbers, then the market appears to be more confident that the US economy, and others too, can withstand the current expectations around inflation and interest rates," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG.
There had been volatility in the markets this week over higher interest rates, surging inflation and lower global growth forecasts in 2022.
Meanwhile, Musk has lined up $46.5 billion in financing for a possible hostile takeover of Twitter, according to a securities filing released on Thursday. Twitter shares fell 0.3 percent in late morning trading.
- Airlines soar -
A forecast by United Airlines for surging travel demand as the pandemic impact fades helped boost airline shares in Europe and the United States.
Shares in European airlines were flying high. British Airways parent IAG soared 6.3 percent and shares in low-cost rival EasyJet jumped 4.9 percent in afternoon trading in London.
"The aviation sector is flying higher on expectations of a bumper quarter, after United Airlines posted record guidance for the second quarter," City Index senior markets analyst Fiona Cincotta told AFP.
The aviation sector was ravaged by the pandemic that erupted in early 2020. Surging oil prices amid the fallout from the Russian war have also acted as a headwind.
United Airlines shares jumped 12.2 percent in late morning trading.
The carrier forecast "the strongest second-quarter revenue guidance in company history" despite logging another Covid-induced loss for the first quarter.
American Airlines, meanwhile, reported another quarterly loss on Thursday, but said a recent sharp improvement in bookings should enable it to achieve profitability in the second quarter.
Shares in American Airlines climbed 6.4 percent and those in Delta gained over six percent.
Europe's main indices were mainly up at the close of trading, although the FTSE 100 was flat.
Stock markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai fell sharply on heightened anxiety over China's renewed Covid lockdowns and curbs on tech companies.
Tokyo, however, rallied on optimism over a falling yen, which boosts exporters.
Meanwhile, world oil prices rebounded after diving the previous session on weaker demand concerns.
- Key figures around 1530 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 35,329.62 points
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3 percent at 3,781.13
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.0 percent at 14,502.41 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.4 percent at 6,715.10 (close)
London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 7,627.95 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 27,553.06 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.3 percent at 20,682.22 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 2.3 percent at 3,079.81 (close)
Euro/dollar: UNCHANGED from $1.0853 late on Wednesday
Dollar/yen: UP at 128.47 yen from 127.86 yen
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3051 from $1.3068
Euro/pound: UP at 83.17 pence from 83.05 pence
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.9 percent at $107.80 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.2 percent at $103.46 per barrel
burs-raz/RL
X.Matos--PC