Sawt Falasteen - Stocks hang onto gains as rate cuts in focus

Wall Street's S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices struck fresh record highs during morning trading.

Both indices joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average in setting all-time highs on Thursday after US inflation and jobless claims data cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve will trim borrowing costs at its meeting next week.

"Stock markets (are) at record highs on hopes for falling interest rates," noted Derren Nathan, head of equity research at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown.

Markets expect the Fed to cut interest rates by a quarter point next week, and make another two cuts of the same size at its two remaining meetings this year.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said a lack of buying conviction on Wall Street wasn't notable, but rather the lack of selling conviction despite reaching new all-time highs which could spark concerns about potential overvaluations.

"The market is effectively riding the trend until the price action tells it to jump off that ride," said O'Hare. "That message hasn't been delivered yet."

European stock markets ended flat, while Asia's main indices made gains.

There were fresh records this week also for the Tokyo and Seoul stock markets, while London on Friday neared a new all-time high, before giving up its gains and ending the day lower.

A drop in the British pound following data showing the UK economy stalled in July had helped support equities for most of the trading session.

Hong Kong led the way among Asia's top stock markets on Friday, closing up more than one percent thanks to a surge of more than five percent in the share price of Alibaba.

The e-commerce titan's New York stock had jumped eight percent Thursday, helped by its latest moves in the artificial intelligence sector.

This week saw also more record highs for the price of gold, viewed as a safe haven investment, following escalating tensions over the Israel-Gaza and Russia-Ukraine conflicts.

Russia's central bank on Friday trimmed its key interest rate to 17 percent as the country risks an economic slowdown.

The Bank of England is next week widely expected to keep its key rate on hold as elevated UK inflation offsets stagnant growth.

The European Central Bank on Thursday held interest rates steady, with eurozone inflation under control and trade tensions having eased, even as France's political crisis presents policymakers with a fresh challenge.

Oil prices climbed as concerns about additional sanctions targeting Russian crude exports outweighed concerns about excess supply on the market.

- Key figures at around 1530 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 45,910.20 points

New York - S&P 500: FLAT at 6,586.17

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 22,120.22

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 9,283.29 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: FLAT at 7,825.24 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: FLAT at 23,698.15 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.9 percent at 44,768.12 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.2 percent at 26,388.16 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,870.60 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1718 from $1.1732 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3551 from $1.3580

Dollar/yen: UP at 147.83 from 147.18 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.47 pence from 86.43 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.9 percent at $67.64 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.8 percent at $63.49 per barrel

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Q.Bulbul--SF-PST