- England begin quest to deliver on great expectations at Euro 2024
- Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia crowned Australian Open badminton champion
- Israel announces daily Gaza 'pause' for aid deliveries
- UK 'guinea pig' for election security before landmark votes
- Hajj pilgrims 'stone the devil' as Muslims mark Eid al-Adha
- Titmus and McKeown carry Australian Olympic swim hopes in bid to topple US
- Senegalese eye elegance for Eid at half the price
- Israel's 'economic war' chokes occupied West Bank
- Chinese Premier Li toasts warming trade ties in Australia
- Australia sink brave Scots at T20 World Cup, England advance
- Oilers rout Panthers to keep NHL Stanley Cup alive
- Trump boasts of cognitive test, then flubs doctor's name
- China to replace Australia's popular giant pandas
- Gaza tests historic bond between UK Muslims and Labour
- UK election picks over 14 years of Conservative rule
- Scotland 180-5 against Australia in T20 World Cup
- Pavon tries to snap 117-year French drought with US Open win
- Foreign-born pandas join China's efforts to boost wild population
- Shunned by West, Russian army deserters live in fear
- Gretchen Walsh sets 100m fly world record at US Olympic swimming trials
- Biden holds LA fundraiser as Trump courts Michigan
- Chinese Premier Li touts trade in rare Australia visit
- Gretchen Walsh sets 100m butterfly world record at US Olympic swimming trials
- DeChambeau leads US Open by three after birdie spree
- Young Chiefs forward Sititi touted for All Blacks call-up
- Aussie Kim moves clear at LPGA Meijer Classic
- Italy begin Euro 2024 title defence with win as Spain start in style
- England stay alive in T20 World Cup with rain-hit win over Namibia
- La Rochelle set up Top 14 semi-final against Toulouse
- Pavon grabs US Open lead with sizzling start at Pinehurst
- Italy 'too comfortable' in Albania win, says Spalletti
- England set Namibia 127 in crunch rain-hit T20 World Cup game
- Italy recover from disastrous start to win Euro 2024 opener
- Zelensky seeks internationally agreed peace plan to present to Russia
- Sri Lanka's Mathews admits 'we let country down' at T20 World Cup
- Raducanu edges ahead before bad light halts all-British semi-final
- Van Dijk says poor pitch for Dutch Euros opener 'a shame'
- England bat in rain-hit must-win T20 World Cup game against Namibia
- Spain coach says 'staying calm is power' after big Croatia win
- Aberg chases US Open debut win while Scheffler struggles
- Albania's Bajrami scores fastest ever Euros goal after 23 seconds
- Pakistan needs major change after reaching 'lowest point' says Imad Wasim
- Croatia coach Dalic 'apologises' for poor start to Euro 2024
- Venezuela opposition reports arbitrary detentions ahead of election
- Spain begin Euro 2024 in style, Switzerland win
- Messi spearheads Argentina's Copa America defence
- England have earned right to be Euro 2024 favourites: Kane
- Spain romp past Croatia in opener as Yamal makes Euros history
- Rain delays England's must-win T20 World Cup game against Namibia
- Quarter million protest in France against far right: police
Wall Street's Nasdaq heads towards record highs on Nvidia
New York's Nasdaq index was headed towards a record-high close on Thursday, lifted by strong earnings from chipmaker Nvidia.
Meanwhile, European equities ended mixed after earlier being boosted by an encouraging report on business activity.
Nvidia reported after-hours Wednesday that quarterly profit rose seven-fold on demand for its chips to power artificial intelligence in data centres.
"Wall Street is a one-company town this morning, drawing fresh strength from mega-cap Nvidia's powerful earnings released late Wednesday,' said Joe Mazzola, an analyst at Charles Schwab.
"Nvidia stuck to precedent by outpacing analysts' expectations for earnings per share, revenue, and guidance in its fiscal first-quarter release."
The chip-maker -- now the third largest company by market capitalisation -- also announced a 10-for-1 stock split and a 150 percent increase in its dividend.
Its shares were up 9.4 percent shortly after the opening in New York, pulling other chipmakers such as ASML and AMD with it.
As a result, the Nasdaq and the wider S&P were headed towards closing at record levels, while the Dow -- which doesn't include Nvidia -- was being pulled lower by financial stocks.
In Europe, Frankfurt and Paris stocks initially rose after a key survey showed that eurozone business activity accelerated in May, but gave up most of those gains late in the session.
The HCOB Flash Eurozone purchasing managers' index (PMI), published by S&P Global, rose to 52.3 from 51.7 in April, its highest in 12 months. Any reading above 50 indicates growth, while a figure below 50 shows contraction.
The PMI's rise was driven by the services sector, where activity rose a fourth consecutive month, helped by new businesses. The manufacturing sector remained below 50, although its decline slowed.
"The PMI data has further alleviated growth concerns over Europe, providing mild support to European shares and the single currency," said Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at City Index.
London stocks fell again, a day after hotter-than-expected annual UK inflation data dampened hopes of a Bank of England interest rate cut any time soon.
Traders largely shrugged off Wednesday's news that Conservative British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called a general election for July 4.
The right-wing Tories, in power since 2010 but battered by disappointment over Brexit, cost-of-living discontent and a slew of scandals, have consistently trailed the main opposition Labour party in opinion polls for two years.
"It's sooner than expected but until we get full election manifestos from the Conservatives and Labour, markets have stayed calm," noted AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
Elsewhere, oil fell for the fourth day in a row while gold also fell.
- Key figures around 1530 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 39,381.05
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 5,316.65
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 16,926.90
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 8,339.23 points (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 8,102.33 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 18,691.32 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3 percent at 5,037.60 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.3 percent at 39,103.22 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7 percent at 18,868.71 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.3 percent at 3,116.39 (close)
Dollar/yen: UP at 157.10 yen from 156.75 yen on Wednesday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0828 from $1.0826
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2713 from $1.2717
Euro/pound: UP at 85.17 from 85.10 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $77.17 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $81.62 per barrel
E.Schubert--BTB