Global stock markets took different directions on Friday as investors weighed better-than-expected Chinese economic growth data, a eurozone interest-rate cut and corporate earnings.
In New York, the tech-heavy Nasdaq and broad-based S&P 500 opened higher after Netflix reported that it added millions of subscribers in its latest quarter, sending the streaming giant鈥檚 shares soaring nine per cent.
鈥楽tock indices got an early boost from Netflix,鈥� said David Morrison, senior market analyst at financial services firm Trade Nation.
He noted that the company also beat earnings and revenue expectations in quarterly results published late on Thursday.
The Dow fell, however, 鈥榙ue to negative responses鈥� to earnings results from consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble and credit card firm American Express, according to a Briefing.com analyst note.
Paris and Frankfurt advanced in afternoon deals following the European Central Bank鈥檚 decision on Thursday to cut rates for the third time this year as inflation returns to normal levels.
London dropped, though, weighed down by the pound gaining in reaction to official data showing UK retail sales rose more than expected in September.
Hong Kong and Shanghai moved higher on hopes the Chinese government could reignite the struggling聽economy, with tech giants and beaten-down developers among the best performers.
China鈥檚聽economy聽expanded by a slightly better-than-forecast annual rate of 4.6 per cent in the third quarter, official data revealed on Friday.
It nevertheless marked the slowest pace of growth since the start of 2023.
Separate data showed that Chinese retail sales and industrial output rose more than expected in September.
鈥楾he raft of data... provided an opportunity to show that the聽economy聽was on the right path,鈥� said Joshua Mahoney, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.
Shares in Gucci-owner Kering jumped more than four per cent in Paris on hopes of rising Chinese demand for luxury goods.
China鈥檚 central bank launched a new bid to boost markets and hinted at a further rate cut in coming months as it aims to hit its annual growth target of five per cent this year.聽
State media reported that top banks had cut rates on yuan deposits on Friday for the second time this year to boost lending.
鈥楾he latest supports are very welcome,鈥� said Harry Murphy Cruise, an economist at Moody鈥檚 Analytics.聽
鈥楢nd they鈥檙e likely to propel the聽economy聽to its... target for the year. But more is required if officials are to address the structural challenges in the聽economy.鈥�
Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo closed higher thanks to a weaker yen boosting exporters.
Taipei was well up thanks to a near five-per cent rally in chip titan TSMC, a day after it reported a bigger-than-expected increase in net profit for the third quarter and raised its growth forecasts for the year thanks to strong demand for AI tech.
Gold, seen as a haven investment, hit a new record high $2,714.10 an ounce following the ECB鈥檚 interest rate decision and concerns over geopolitical conflict in the Middle East, analysts said.聽