Sawt Falasteen - Global stock markets rise on China hopes

Paris and Frankfurt advanced in midday deals following the European Central Bank's decision Thursday to further cut eurozone interest rates as inflation returns to normal levels.

London dropped, however, weighed down by the pound gaining in reaction to official data showing UK retail sales rose more than expected in September.

Hong Kong and Shanghai burst higher on hopes the Chinese government could reignite the struggling economy, with tech giants and beaten-down developers among the best performers.

China's economy expanded by a slightly better-than-forecast annual rate of 4.6 percent in the third quarter, official data revealed Friday.

However, it still marked the slowest pace of growth since the start of 2023.

Separate data showed that Chinese retail sales and industrial output rose more than expected in September.

"The raft of data... provided an opportunity to show that the economy was on the right path," said Joshua Mahoney, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.

Shares in Gucci-owner Kering jumped more than five percent in Paris on hopes of rising Chinese demand for luxury goods.

China's central bank launched a new bid to boost markets and hinted at a further rate cut in coming months as it aims to hit its annual growth target of five percent this year.

State media reported that top banks had cut rates on yuan deposits Friday for the second time this year to boost lending.

"The latest supports are very welcome," said Harry Murphy Cruise, an economist at Moody's Analytics.

"And they're likely to propel the economy to its... target for the year. But more is required if officials are to address the structural challenges in the economy."

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo closed higher thanks to a weaker yen boosting exporters.

Taipei was well up thanks to a near five-percent rally in chip titan TSMC, a day after it reported a bigger-than-expected increase in net profit for the third quarter and raised its growth forecasts for the year thanks to strong demand for AI tech.

Gold, seen as a haven investment, hit a new record high $2,714.10 an ounce following the ECB's interest rate decision and concerns over geopolitical conflict in the Middle East, analysts said.

Wall Street had a largely uneventful session Thursday as forecast-topping US retail sales saw investors scale back bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.

The dollar gained on the data before dropping against main rivals Friday.

- Key figures around 1040 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 at 8,359.63 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.5 percent at 7,618.40

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 19,603.29

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 38.981.75 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 3.6 percent at 20,804.11 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 2.9 percent at 3,261.56 (close)

New York - Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 43,239.05 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0846 from $1.0830 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3043 from $1.3013

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 149.93 yen from 150.23 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.13 pence from 83.22 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.6 percent at $70.23 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $74.00 per barrel

O.Mousa--SF-PST