Sawt Falasteen - World stocks consolidate Fed-fuelled gains

European and Asian equity markets tracked Thursday's record performance on Wall Street, where the equities seemed poised to end the week on a high note.

"Global stock markets are still pushing higher," observed Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, noting that European stocks had pulled ahead of US markets since the start of the month.

Focus for global investors switches to next week's release of US jobs data, which could provide insights into the Federal Reserve's plans for next year.

Partial data released Thursday showed US jobless claims rose more than expected in the week ended December 6, marking their biggest increase for five and a half years and reinforcing the view of a softening labour market.

Traders welcomed Fed boss Jerome Powell's post-meeting comments Wednesday -- seen as less hawkish than feared -- but the policy board's statement suggested it could hold off from a fourth straight cut in January.

While there was some concern about sector valuations after disappointing earnings from sector giants Oracle and Broadcom caused a tech dip Thursday, this did not translate into sustained selling pressure.

London stock prices underperformed their European peers after official data showed that the UK economy unexpectedly contracted in October.

- Key figures at around 1435 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 48,831.12

New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.4 percent at 23,508.69

New York: S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 6,893.29

London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 9,700.60 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 8,138.75

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 24,379.84

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.4 percent at 50,836.55 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.8 percent at 25,976.79 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,889.35 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1731 from $1.1741 on Thursday

Dollar/yen: UP at 156.01 yen from 155.58

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3372 from $1.3394

Euro/pound: UP at 87.75 pence from 87.65 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $61.12 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $57.49 per barrel

burs-jh/sbk

L.Hussein--SF-PST