European stock markets rose while Asia was mixed on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve lowered interest rates but left investors wondering how many more cuts were in the pipeline.
Paris and Frankfurt stocks rose more than one per cent, with German sentiment buoyed by a central bank statement saying Germany should dodge a technical recession in the immediate future.
London rose less enthusiastically as the Bank of England kept its own rate at four per cent in the face of stubbornly high inflation, which stands at 3.8 per cent in the UK.
鈥楢lthough we expect inflation to return to our two-per cent target, we鈥檙e not out of the woods yet, so any future cuts will need to be made gradually and carefully,鈥� BoE governor Andrew Bailey said in a statement.
While Britain鈥檚 interest rate was kept unchanged, Norway鈥檚 central bank cut borrowing costs on Thursday, after a similar move by Canada on Wednesday.
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鈥� two-per cent 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 鈥榤eeting by meeting鈥�.
After Powell鈥檚 comments, 鈥榤arkets were left feeling less confident on the extent of the likely easing cycle鈥�, said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank.
US markets ended on a tepid note, with the Dow up but the broad-based S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq down.
Asian investors were also cautious.
Shanghai stocks retreated overall, and Hong Kong鈥檚 session also ended in the red.
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 per cent, following reports that China banned its tech firms from purchasing Nvidia chips.
Chinese chip firms also surged after the Financial Times reported that China鈥檚 internet regulator had instructed firms including Alibaba and ByteDance to terminate orders for Nvidia鈥檚 RTX Pro 6000D chips.
The state-of-the-art processors are made especially for China.
