Sawt Falasteen - Markets mostly rise as Biden set for Middle East diplomacy drive

Paris and Frankfurt closed 0.1 percent higher after slipping earlier in trading while London finished up 0.6 percent.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq also reversed earlier losses to trade higher at midday.

"All moves of course are unfolding against a tense, and highly uncertain, geopolitical backdrop," said Patrick O'Hare, analyst at Briefing.com.

All eyes were on US President Joe Biden's visit to Israel on Wednesday.

His trip comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lines up forces on the Gazan border ahead of an expected ground incursion as Tel Aviv retaliates after deadly October 7 attacks by Hamas militants.

Biden was to meet Netanyahu, and will also see Jordanian King Abdullah II, Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in hopes of finding a way to de-escalate a crisis that threatens the stability of the region.

The drive to avert a war that could draw in other regional players, including Iran and Lebanon-based Hezbollah, helped push Wall Street higher Monday, with all three main indexes up around one percent.

Oil prices seesawed, falling in late afternoon European hours.

Stock markets also tracked fresh company results.

US investment bank Goldman Sachs reported a 36-percent fall in third quarter profits at $1.9 billion.

Bank of America reported better earnings than expected in the same quarter, with its net income rising 10 percent to $7.8 billion.

Investors also digested rising US Treasury yields and retail sales data for September that came in stronger than expected.

The resilient retail sales data fuelled concerns that the US Federal Reserve may have to keep interest rates higher for longer to bring high inflation back down to its long-term target of two percent.

"The economy clearly isn't in –- or even near –- a recession. The market's worry, though, is that a strong economy could eventually break itself through higher rates," said Callie Cox, investment analyst at trading platform eToro.

In Britain, official data showed cooler wages growth in the country, increasing expectations that the Bank of England was done with raising interest rates to fight inflation.

- Key figures around 1600 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 34,099.04 points

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,675.21

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 15,251.69

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,029.70

EURO STOXX 50: UP less than 0.1 percent at 4,152.32

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 32,040.29 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 17,773.34 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,083.50 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0593 from $1.0562 on Monday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2202 from $1.2218

Dollar/yen: UP at 149.72 yen from 149.53 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.81 pence from 86.42 pence

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $89.36 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $86.21 per barrel

Z.AlNajjar--SF-PST