London (AFP) - Stock markets mostly rose Friday, with Paris hitting a record high, as investors tracked easing inflation, cooling US retail sales and some strong earnings.
The dollar hit a year-low against the euro and a 10-month trough versus the sterling after official data this week showed high inflation slowing in the United States, fanning hopes that the Federal Reserve would soon stop hiking interest rates.
Oil prices firmed, winning support from tight supplies.
Stocks advanced "on increasing signs that the global round of interest-rate hikes could be drawing to a close", noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.
In a sign of cooling inflation elsewhere, Singapore's central bank kept rates steady Friday, having previously hiked them five times in a row.
And data showed Swedish inflation fell slightly in March as energy cost hikes receded.Nevertheless, consumer price increases remained in the double digits at 10.6 percent, a level similar to annual British inflation.
The high rate of inflation in the eurozone ought to come down over the coming months, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Friday, but she warned there was "considerable uncertainty" around the forecast.
The US inflation data reassured investors that the country's economy could be heading for a soft landing, even though minutes from the Fed's March policy meeting revealed some officials see a mild recession this year.
Focus turned to the release of US retail sales, which fell one percent in March, while the corporate earnings season kicked off in earnest.
Mixed outlook
Major US banks reported higher profits despite recent upheaval in the sector, with JPMorgan Chase reporting a jump in first-quarter profits.
However, it also warned of a potential economic downturn as it added $1.1 billion in reserves in case of bad loans.
On Wall Street, stocks were lower following the release of the retail sales data.
"Strength in company earnings this morning accompanied by this weak data could add to confusion on Wall Street as investors gauge the economic picture," analysts at Charles Schwab said.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, said the retail sales figures had investors "fretting again about a US recession".
"While it is a Friday, and risk appetite is hard to sustain, today's losses after Thursday's gains show how delicate the rally in US equities is," he said.
Traders were keenly awaiting banks' outlook statements in light of the upheaval in the banking sector last month that saw three US lenders go under and Credit Suisse bought by rival UBS.
The Paris CAC 40 stocks index of leading French companies hit a new record-high, closing 0.5-percent up at 7,519.61 points, buoyed in part by strong earnings Thursday from luxury group LVMH.
Shares in London and Frankfurt were also in the green "taking their cue from better US earnings which show that the banking crisis of March is now a memory", Beauchamp said.
Key figures around 1545 GMT
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.5 percent at 7,519.61 points (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,871.91 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 15,807.50 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.6 percent at 4,390.75
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 33,813.50
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 28,493.47 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 20,438.81 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3,338.15 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0981 from $1.1050 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2417 from $1.2526
Dollar/yen: UP at 133.74 yen from 132.65 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 88.44 pence at 88.20 pence
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.6 percent at $86.55 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.8 percent at $82.79 per barrel
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