Sawt Falasteen - Stock markets fluctuate as China-US trade euphoria fades

While April's volatility across equity indices appears to have halted, analysts warned that Washington still needed to reach tariff deals with countries to instill a sense of stability.

In Europe, Paris and Frankfurt stock markets fell and London flattened in early afternoon trade. Chinese indices closed with sizeable gains on rallies for tech stocks.

"The rally for European stocks has stalled, although the index is still eking out a decent weekly gain," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at traders XTB.

"The key theme for global stocks this week is the resurgence of big tech, which is why the FTSE 100 is out of favour, it is too risk averse for this environment," she added.

US President Donald Trump, on a visit to the Gulf, unveiled agreements with Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, including a huge chip deal for Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.

During Trump's visit, Saudi Arabia promised billions of dollars in deals with the United States, from defence to artificial intelligence.

The tech-rich Nasdaq rallied with the S&P 500 on Tuesday, which broke back into positive territory for the year, helped also by softer-than-expected US inflation data.

On Wednesday, the Hong Kong stock market jumped more than two percent and Shanghai rallied, lifted by strong buying in Chinese tech stocks.

After Asian markets closed, Chinese internet giant Tencent reported a better-than-expected increase in revenue for the first quarter, propelling by growth in gaming.

Tokyo ended in the red, even as electronics titan Sony surged 3.7 percent as it announced a record annual profit.

However, Sony did warn profits could fall in this financial year and said it was hoping to manage the impact of Trump's tariffs.

The news came after a de-escalation in the US-China trade war over the weekend, which helped ease some concern over tariffs.

Analysts warned, however, that prices could spike in the coming months as businesses come to grips with Trump's sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs.

Elsewhere, defence stocks fared particularly well in Europe on Wednesday, with Rheinmetall topping Frankfurt's DAX.

In other company news, Burberry shares soared 13 percent after the British luxury fashion group announced more cost-saving measures, putting one-fifth of its workforce at risk, to help curb losses.

French train maker Alstom shares plunged 17 percent as its financial target disappointed investors, despite reporting a return to profit last year.

Oil prices retreated after enjoying a four-day rally on demand optimism and Trump's warnings to Iran over a nuclear deal.

- Key figures at around 1045 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 8,604.70 points

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.7 percent at 7,821.20

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 23,520.41

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 38,128.13 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.3 percent at 23,640.65 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.9 percent at 3,403.95 (close)

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 42,140.43 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1233 from $1.1189 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3341 from $1.3304

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 145.91 yen from 147.47 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 84.21 pence from 84.07 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.1 percent at $62.97 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.1 percent at $65.93 per barrel

O.Farraj--SF-PST