Sawt Falasteen - Rate hikes and tech optimism send stocks higher

Forecast-beating results by Facebook-owner Meta helped drive a rally in tech stocks that sent the Nasdaq Composite up nearly three percent, with Google, Apple and Amazon set to report earnings later in the day.

Gains by equities in London, Frankfurt and Paris accelerated after the ECB and BoE each announced half-percentage-point rate hikes, as anticipated. Germany's DAX climbed 2.2 percent to hit an 11-month high.

The euro and the pound both fell around one percent against the dollar, before clawing back some ground, despite the ECB and BoE rate increases being larger than the quarter-point hike by the Fed.

The ECB said another half-point increase would come in March, adding that it would "stay the course in raising interest rates significantly at a steady pace".

BoE governor Andrew Bailey said inflationary pressures were still present and it was "too soon to declare victory yet", even as the central bank forecast a shallower-than-expected UK recession this year as the country faces a cost-of-living crisis.

"While the tone of both press conferences would appear to suggest that both central banks have further to go in raising rates, markets appear to be taking the view that we're near a peak as far as rates are concerned, and even if they aren't done yet, they are close, sending bond yields falling sharply across the board," said market analyst Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.

Signs are growing the eurozone may have passed the worst of an economic shock, with inflation slowing from a peak in October and the single currency area eking out growth at the end of 2022.

- Fed hopes -

Wall Street picked up where it left off on Wednesday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumping nearly three percent after Facebook and Instagram-owner Meta beat sales expectations.

While Meta reported its first annual sales drop since the company went public in 2012, the one percent drop to $116.6 billion was less brutal than expected, and the company's shares shot up over 24 percent.

But the blue-chip Dow dipped 0.3 percent in late morning trading.

Tech firms had led a surge on the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices Wednesday after the US central bank unveiled a more moderate quarter-point increase in borrowing costs -- and also noted progress in bringing prices under control.

The decision to lift rates by the smallest amount in almost a year came after a series of data points suggested the world's largest economy was slowing down, with US inflation at its lowest level since October 2021.

"Overall, the capital markets behaved as if they are confident in the idea that the Fed will be pausing its rate hikes soon and that a rate cut before the end of the year is not out of the question," said market analyst Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com.

In Asia, the main equity indices closed mixed ahead of the European rate decisions, with investors unable to maintain an early rally -- despite a strong lead Wednesday from Wall Street fuelled by hopes the Fed's campaign of interest rate hikes could be nearing an end.

- Key figures around 1630 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 33,991.97 points

S&P 500: UP 1.4 percent at 4,177.80

Nasdaq Composite: UP 3.0 percent at 12,165.71

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 7,820.16 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 2.2 percent at 15,509.19 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.3 percent at 7,166.27 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.7 percent at 4,241.12 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 27,402.05 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.5 percent at 21,958.36 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: FLAT at 3,285.67 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0926 from $1.0995 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2274 from $1.2378

Euro/pound: UP at 89.03 pence from 88.76 pence

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 128.39 yen from 128.90 yen

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $75.88 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.0 percent at $82.05 per barrel

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H.Jarrar--SF-PST