Sawt Falasteen - Stock markets fluctuate after Fed rate cut

Paris and Frankfurt stocks rose more than one percent, while London also edged up nearing the half-way stage.

That followed gains in Tokyo, and losses in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Investors awaited a Bank of England update on monetary policy Thursday, with the BoE widely expected to maintain its key interest rate at four percent with UK inflation stubbornly high.

"While the rate cut machine has whirred back into action for the US, it's expected to remain idle in the UK for a bit longer," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

The central banks of Norway and Canada both opted to cut interest rates this week.

On the heels of recent economic reports showing weaker US jobs growth, the Fed on Wednesday said it would lower borrowing costs by 25 basis points, its first reduction since December.

The decision to cut came even as US inflation runs well above policymakers' two-percent target, but analysts said the main focus was on the jobs market.

Fed policymakers are split between those who expect at least two interest rate cuts later this year and those who anticipate one or fewer.

Fed boss Jerome Powell remained cagey, telling reporters decision-makers were approaching it "meeting by meeting".

After Powell's comments, "markets were left feeling less confident on the extent of the likely easing cycle", said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank.

US markets ended on a tepid note, with the Dow up but S&P 500 and Nasdaq down.

Asian investors were also cautious.

Tokyo closed in the green as the Fed decision boosted the dollar against the yen and other currencies, helping Japanese exporters.

Seoul closed at a record high, fuelled by a tech stock surge led by Samsung Electronics and chipmaker SK hynix, which soared nearly six percent, following reports that China banned its tech firms from purchasing Nvidia chips.

Gold prices held losses around $3,660 an ounce, having spiked on Wednesday at a record above $3,707.

In company news, Chinese chip firms surged after the Financial Times reported that China's internet regulator had instructed firms including Alibaba and ByteDance to terminate orders for Nvidia's RTX Pro 6000D chips.

The state-of-the-art processors are made especially for China.

- Key figures at around 1030 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 9,226.68 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.2 percent at 7,880.36

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.2 percent at 23,647.93

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 45,303.43 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.2 percent at 3,831.66 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 26,544.85 (close)

New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 46,018.32 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1841 from $1.1811 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3650 from $1.3626

Dollar/yen: UP at 147.29 yen from 147.00 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.76 pence from 86.70 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $63.59 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $67.51 per barrel

E.Qaddoumi--SF-PST