Sawt Falasteen - Stocks rise as all eyes on corporate earnings

Indexes were mainly higher across Europe and on Wall Street, while Asian markets were subdued after the lacklustre US close on Wednesday, where tech firms came in for further selling amid concerns of the scale of massive AI investments and their eventual impact on various industries.

"The strength seen in Europe ... comes from improved earnings data from some of the big hitters," said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.

Shares in German industrial giant Siemens jumped seven percent as it raised its outlook for the year after a strong first quarter boosted by spending on artificial intelligence.

In Paris, RayBan maker EssilorLuxottica shares rose around four percent as its fourth-quarter earnings beat market expectations, while Hermes climbed 3.5 percent after reporting 2025 sales growth despite the impact of US tariffs and a weaker dollar.

But French pharma giant Sanofi sank 4.5 percent after the surprise ouster of its chief executive Paul Hudson, suggesting growing concerns about the company's pipeline for new products, He will be replaced by Belen Garijo, currently chief of Germany's Merck KGaA

London also edged up toward record territory, even as data showed the UK economy grew less than expected in the final three months of 2025.

British asset manager Schroders was the biggest riser in the FTSE 100 index after agreeing a takeover by the US firm Nuveen, sending its shares up 28 percent.

Investors were also reacting to a stronger than expected US jobs report on Wednesday that allayed concerns about the state of the world's biggest economy, even though it reduced expectations for Fed interest rate cuts to spur growth.

Around 130,000 US jobs were created last month, more than double what was forecast, while unemployment unexpectedly dipped.

The reading soothed concerns about the economy that had been stoked by a report earlier this week showing weak US consumer activity.

"This was a solid report across headline job creation, unemployment, and wage growth, easing concerns over the health of the US labour market," said Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index.

However, "the markets have pushed back on expectations for the next rate cut by the Federal Reserve to July, compared to June previously," she added.

Investors will now focus on Friday's release of inflation data for January for further clues on potential rate cuts.

The winners in Asia on Thursday were again led by Seoul's Kospi index, the world's best performer this year thanks to a surge in chipmakers Samsung and SK hynix as traders turn to the region's AI plays.

The region's recent rally comes amid a turn from Wall Street titans caused by concerns about extended valuations of firms such as Microsoft and Meta amid massive investments in AI deployment.

- Key figures at around 1440 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 50,423.57 points

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 6,968.25

New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.2 percent at 23,114.44

London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 10,474.52

Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 8,399.73

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.0 percent at 25,231.42

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 57,639.84 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 27,032.54 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 4,134.02 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1886 from $1.1874 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3664 from $1.3628

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 153.00 yen from 153.14 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.99 pence from 87.13 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $68.94 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $64.28 per barrel

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