Sawt Falasteen - Stock markets mixed as investors digest corporate results

Wall Street opened higher, with the broad-based S&P 500 nearing the 5,000-point mark.

US stocks rose after automaker Ford beat earnings estimates in results released Tuesday after the bell, while Chipotle Mexican Grill also exceeded market expectations.

Ford shares surged over three percent in early trading while Chipotle jumped seven percent.

The US markets rose despite concern over regional US lender New York Community Bancorp, whose shares were down eight percent after Moody's downgraded its credit rating.

"The broader stock market remains resilient to selling interest," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

In Europe, however, London, Paris and Frankfurt were all in the red in afternoon trading.

In the UK, British housebuilder Barratt agreed to buy competitor Redrow for £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) amid a housing market that has been hit by higher interest rates.

Shares in Barratt dived seven percent but Redrow surged more than 13 percent.

In Paris, shares in French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies were down three percent after it reported a net profit of $21.4 billion for last year, which was a new record but fell short of expectations.

Norwegian energy group Equinor took a bigger market beating, falling six percent in Oslo after reporting that its annual net profit plunged 59 percent to $11.9 billion on lower oil and gas prices.

The Frankfurt DAX was down after official data showed that industrial production in Germany fell for a seventh straight month in December, capping a year of manufacturing weakness in Europe's largest economy.

Investors were also mulling expectations that the Federal Reserve was unlikely to cut US interest rates as soon as March, as inflation stays high.

"Fed probabilities of a rate cut continue to get pushed out," said Nathan Peterson, director of derivatives analysis at the Schwab Center for Financial Research.

- Shanghai surge -

In Asia, announcements this week out of Beijing continued to light a fire under equities in Shanghai, though Hong Kong succumbed to profit-taking.

Observers warned that Chinese measures aimed at shoring up its economy would not be enough to revive confidence among weary investors, adding that much more need was needed to address a property-sector debt crisis.

Charu Chanana of Saxo Capital "the effect may be temporary as all these are band-aid measures that cannot fix the structural issues that China is facing from property sector to lack of productivity".

Central Huijin Investment, the unit that holds Chinese government stakes in major financial institutions, said it would increase investments in funds.

China's Securities Regulatory Commission meanwhile called on listed firms to ramp up share buybacks, a move that typically boosts stock prices.

Following this, Chinese state media on Wednesday reported that Beijing had removed the head of the CSRC.

- Key figures around 1455 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 38,586.78 points

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 4,972.31

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 15,662.71

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 7,642.54

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,623.72

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 16,946.56

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2 percent at 4,683.15

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 36,119.92 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 16,081.89 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 2,829.70 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0767 from $1.0758 on Tuesday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.86 yen from 147.91 yen

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2633 from $1.2600

Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.27 pence from 85.36 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $78.98 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $73.69 per barrel

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Y.AlMasri--SF-PST