New York (AFP) - The euro retreated Thursday after the ECB again hiked interest rates, while Wall Street indices moved in opposite directions following a mixed bag of US earnings.
The European Central Bank, as expected, rolled out another increase of 75 basis points, despite growing concern the eurozone is hurtling towards a painful recession.
Like other central banks, the Frankfurt institution is under pressure to rein in record-high inflation, driven by surging food and especially energy prices in the wake of Russia's war in Ukraine.
Eurozone inflation stood at 9.9 percent in September, nearly five times the ECB's two-percent target.
Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson said the hike was "in line with consensus but (a) less hawkish tone overall, indicative of fewer rate hikes required to tackle inflation."
The euro retreated against other major currencies, including the dollar, which gained ground after US data showed that the US economy expanded 2.6 percent in the third quarter, snapping two straight quarters of negative growth.
Analysts said the US growth report likely would keep the Federal Reserve on track for another large interest rate hike in early November.Markets are hopeful of a moderation in US policy after that.
Joe Manimbo of Convera described the euro's pullback as the "classic 'buy the rumor, sell the fact'" trading phenomenon.
Equities were mixed, including in New York, where the Dow pushed higher, while both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq pulled back.
Facebook parent Meta became Wall Street's latest big tech punching bag, plunging 24.5 percent as it reported much lower profits amid stagnating user numbers and cuts in advertising budgets.
After Thursday's trading session, Amazon joined Meta in doghouse, shedding more than 11 percent in after-hours trading on a disappointing holiday forecast.
But Apple shares edged higher after topping analyst estimates.
Other companies that enjoyed a strong quarter included Caterpillar and McDonald's, which climbed 3.3 percent after reporting better-than-expected profits, based in part on the growth in sales to consumers who have thronged to chains from pricier restaurants.
Shares in Credit Suisse slumped some 18 percent after Switzerland's second-biggest bank announced a string of radical measures Thursday aimed at turning around the beleaguered lender.
Credit Suisse revealed huge third quarter losses and said it would revamp its investment banking unit, slashing 9,000 jobs and raising fresh capital.
French giant TotalEnergies rose 3.0 percent after reporting that net profits had soared 43 percent to $6.6 billion -- adding fuel to the raging debate over windfall taxes on energy firms due to the spike in prices thanks to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Key figures around 2150 GMT
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $0.9965 from $1.0087 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.1567 from $1.1621
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.27 yen from 146.39 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.11 pence from 86.77 pence
New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 32,033.28 (close)
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,807.30 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 1.6 percent at 10,792.63 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 7,073.69 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 13,211.23 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 6,244.03 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: FLAT at 3,604.51 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 27,345.24 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.7 percent at 15,427.94 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 2,982.90 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.3 percent at $94.96 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.3 percent at $89.08 per barrel
burs-jmb/st
