Sawt Falasteen - Stock markets mixed as investors weigh earnings, China GDP

In New York, the tech-heavy Nasdaq and broad-based S&P 500 opened higher after Netflix reported that it added millions of subscribers in its latest quarter, sending the streaming giant's shares soaring nine percent.

"Stock indices got an early boost from Netflix," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at financial services firm Trade Nation.

He noted that the company also beat earnings and revenue expectations in quarterly results published late on Thursday.

The Dow fell, however, "due to negative responses" to earnings results from consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble and credit card firm American Express, according to a Briefing.com analyst note.

Paris and Frankfurt advanced in afternoon deals following the European Central Bank's decision on Thursday to cut rates for the third time this year as inflation returns to normal levels.

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

- China boost -

Hong Kong and Shanghai moved 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 on Friday.

It nevertheless 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 four 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 on 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.

- Key figures around 1340 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 43,133.00 points

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.3 percent at 5,856.16

New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.7 percent at 18,500.30

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.7 at 8,329.27

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 7,608.07

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 19,630.76

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)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0856 from $1.0830 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3056 from $1.3013

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 149.83 yen from 150.23 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.16 pence from 83.22 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.4 percent at $69.12 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.3 percent at $73.50 per barrel

A.Suleiman--SF-PST