- 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
- 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
China stimulus, tech optimism boost global equities
Stock markets surged Thursday as China signalled further stimulus for the world's second-largest economy, while a strong outlook from US chip giant Micron gave a further boost to investor optimism.
European indexes moved sharply higher in the wake of Beijing's latest moves, led by Paris and its luxury stocks heavily dependent on Chinese consumers, while on Wall Street the tech-heavy Nasdaq set the pace.
China's President Xi Jinping admitted Thursday that the country was facing new economic "problems" and pledged to ramp up employment and fix its heavily indebted property sector.
"After months of market anticipation, the Chinese authorities are finally acknowledging the significant amount of work needed to relaunch the world's second-largest economy," said market strategist Patrick Munnelly at traders Tickmill Group.
Bloomberg reported that Chinese leaders were also considering pumping more than $140 billion into its large state-run banks.
The Hong Kong stock exchange jumped 4.2 percent and Shanghai finished with a gain of 3.6 percent, extending the week's strong gains.
In Europe, the Paris stock market rose more than two percent in afternoon trading on hopes of rebounding China demand.
Shares in Gucci-owner Kering jumped nearly 10 percent while LVMH and Hermes won nine percent.
In London, the FTSE 100 index rose by just 0.3 percent, capped by heavy losses to energy majors BP and Shell.
Crude oil prices dropped more than three percent on expectations of higher output in Saudi Arabia and Libya, according to analysts, despite fears of curbed demand as major economies slow.
German stocks climbed 1.2 percent despite an announcement Thursday by leading economic institutes that Germany's economy will shrink this year.
A tech surge supported gains across the board after a strong earnings outlook from Micron, which sent the company's shares soaring by more than 17 percent.
The sector also got a boost from South Korean behemoth SK hynix saying it had started mass production of a more advanced artificial-intelligence chip.
Tech shares have been the main driver of a surge in global markets this year as demand for all things AI heats up.
There were also big gains for Samsung and Japan's Sony, while e-commerce titan Alibaba and JD.com joined the tech surge in Hong Kong.
Shares in French video game maker Ubisoft sank nearly 20 percent after it dropped its profit targets following a delay to its latest "Assassin's Creed" title.
Attention is turning to Friday's release of US personal consumption expenditure (PCE) figures -- the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge of inflation.
Debate is swirling on the Fed's next move after it cut interest rates by 50 basis points last week.
Analysts said further easing in the PCE could boost the chances of another big move, which is weighing on the dollar and boosting metals priced in the currency.
Gold hit yet another new peak, above $2,685.58 an ounce, while silver reached the highest level since late 2012.
The Swiss franc, meanwhile, gained against the dollar and euro despite a Swiss central bank rate cut that was in part aimed at containing its rise.
- Key figures around 1400 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 41,121.53
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.6 percent at 5,755.90
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.2 percent at 18,286.38
London - FTSE 100: UP 1.0 percent at 8, points
Paris - CAC 40: UP 2.2 percent at 7,734.07
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.6 percent at 19,227.38
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.8 percent at 38,925.63 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 4.2 percent at 19,924.58 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 3.6 percent at 3,000.95 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1139 from $1.1130 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3368 from $1.3317
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.65 yen from 144.81 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.35 pence from 83.54 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 3.1 percent at $70.67 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.4 percent at $67.26 per barrel
R.Veloso--PC