Sawt Falasteen - Stocks struggle to end week on high note

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat while the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq were in the red in early trades.

European markets were up in afternoon deals, with London leading gains as it rose more than one percent despite data showing an unexpected drop in retail sales in October.

Hong Kong closed down 2.1 percent, with shares in Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba hammered after the company cancelled a spinoff of its cloud computing arm, citing the US-China chip war.

Crude prices gained after falling almost five percent on Thursday due to weak demand expectations amid China's softening economy.

Weaker-than-expected US inflation data this week which fanned hopes that the Federal Reserve would not need to further hike interest rates before cutting.

The data gave a strong boost to global stock markets earlier in the week.

UK inflation also slowed more than expected.

"There is increasing optimism amongst investors that interest rates are at a peak, and that inflation would continue to ease, considering energy prices are on the decline," said Richard Flax, chief investment officer at Moneyfarm.

However, traders remain on edge that the Federal Reserve has left the door open to a possible hike as inflation remains elevated and despite warnings that the world's top economy could be in danger of slipping into recession.

Those worried about a downturn pointed to US unemployment benefits being at their highest in two years, factory production dropping more than forecast and homebuilder sentiment at its weakest in 2023.

- Key figures around 1445 GMT -

New York - Dow: FLAT at 34,935.99 points

London - FTSE 100: UP 1.1 percent at 7,494.65 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 7,233.03

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.8 percent at 15,918.15

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.8 percent at 4,337.22

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 33,585.20 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.1 percent at 17,454.19 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,054.37 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0862 from $1.0851 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2413 from $1.2411

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 149.67 yen from 150.76 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 87.53 pence from 87.41 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.0 percent at $74.36 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 2.0 percent at $78.98 per barrel

N.Awad--SF-PST