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Global stocks diverged and the dollar gained Friday following a bounce on Wall Street as traders weighed weak European economic data and concerns over escalating tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war.Bitcoin pushed on further with its march towards the $100,000 mark, as the cryptocurrency benefits from US president-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to ease regulation around digital tokens.The euro hit a two-year-low against the dollar and the pound retreated after a closely watched survey showed a contraction in business activity in November in the eurozone and the UK. The dollar, considered a safe haven asset, was also bolstered by geopolitical uncertainty after Russia said the conflict in Ukraine had the characteristics of a “global” war and did not rule out strikes on Western countries.Paris and Frankfurt stocks fell as the survey showed that Germany and France, the eurozone’s two biggest economies, were once again driving the weakness, with the latter posting the fastest fall in activity since January. “Businesses across Europe seem to be acutely concerned about the risks posed by president-elect Trump’s radical tariff proposals”, said Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at financial technology firm Ebury.Germany’s third-quarter growth was also downgraded Friday with official data showing it expanded even more weakly than previously thought.London managed to gain around 0.7 percent despite data showing that retail sales figures for October undershot forecasts.All three main indexes on Wall Street ended Thursday on a positive note with observers saying traders had dialled back their gloom over Nvidia’s huge earnings that fell short of the highest expectations.In Asia, Tokyo climbed as the government prepared to announce a $140 billion stimulus package to kickstart the country’s stuttering economy.However, Hong Kong and Shanghai sank on a sell-off in tech firms caused by weak earnings from firms including Temu-owner PDD Holdings and internet giant Baidu.Bitcoin set a new record high of $99,505.45 Friday morning before easing back slightly.It is broadly expected to soon burst through $100,000 as investors grow increasingly hopeful that Trump will pass measures to deregulate the crypto sector.Bitcoin has soared more than 40 percent since his election victory this month and it has more than doubled since the turn of the year.The recent surge has also been “driven by news that Trump could set up an official crypto department that would sit in the heart of US government”, said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.In a further boost, the top US securities regulator Gary Gensler, who oversaw measures to rein in cryptocurrencies, announced Thursday that he intends to step down when Trump takes office in January.The move clears the way for the president-elect to pick Gensler’s successor.- Key figures around 1115 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 8,203.26Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,192.43Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.1 percent at 19,120.91Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 38,283.85 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.9 percent at 19,229.97 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 3.1 percent at 3,267.19 (close)New York – Dow: UP 1.1 percent at 43,870.35 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0420 from $1.0476 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2515 from $1.2587Dollar/yen: DOWN at 154.43 yen from 154.54 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.23 pence from 83.20 penceWest Texas Intermediate: FLAT percent at $70.12 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $74.28 per barrel

Japan’s minority government signed off Friday on a $140-billion stimulus drive aimed at putting more money in consumers’ pockets after the ruling party’s worst election result in 15 years.The October 27 contest saw voters — angry over corruption in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and inflation — deprive new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s coalition of a majority in parliament’s lower house.The package worth 21.9 trillion yen ($141.8 billion) includes handouts of around 30,000 yen for low-income households, fuel and energy subsidies, and assistance to small businesses, according to the government.The overall business impact was expected to be 39 trillion yen.”To enhance the vitality of Japan as a whole, we will strengthen the growth of the national and regional economies and raise wages for all people, of all generations,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.To pay for the package, the second in as many years, the government will table a supplementary budget by the end of the year in the lower house.But views about the move among people on the streets were mixed.Voter Katsuhiro Hirakawa, 63, accused politicians of making “whatever decisions they want without listening to the voices of us ordinary citizens”.Authorities should “think carefully about why they need more tax revenue, or how they can reduce wasteful spending, before making decisions on budgets”, he told AFP in Tokyo.And Hisaki Sato, 46, wanted more help for the middle class, adding: “We’re now living in an age when not only low-income households but middle-income families are in need of more stimulus measures.”The middle class is “home to many people who are contributing directly to the economy, so I want the government to cherish them as well”.- Debt mountain -To win enough lawmakers’ support, Ishiba agreed to include the lifting of an income tax threshold pushed by the opposition Democratic Party for the People (DPP).The smaller party says this will ease labour shortages and boost consumer spending by encouraging part-time staff to work longer hours and earn more.But critics worry that this will reduce tax revenues by trillions of yen and increase Japan’s huge debt pile, which equates to more than 200 percent of gross domestic product.With the Bank of Japan expected to keep hiking interest rates, this debt mountain will also cost more and more, SMBC Nikko Securities economist Yoshimasa Maruyama said.Tax cuts “must be accompanied by a permanent source of revenue to fill the gap”, Maruyama wrote in a research note.Ishiba, 67, has promised to revitalise depressed rural regions and to address the “quiet emergency” of Japan’s shrinking population with measures to support families such as flexible working hours.Going forward, businesses worry that the need to curry favour with opposition parties means Ishiba will avoid reforms needed to improve Japan’s competitiveness.There are also concerns that the government may pressure the Bank of Japan to go slow on raising interest rates, even if this leads to a weaker yen.- Rice prices soar -Government data Friday put headline inflation last month at a modest 2.3 percent, but it showed rice up nearly 60 percent year-on-year, revealing the pain for ordinary Japanese.The price of the staple rocketed because of hot weather and water shortages and after a “megaquake” warning in August led to hoarding. Record inflows of hungry tourists were also blamed.Separately, Ishiba has promised to spend 10 trillion yen through 2030 to boost Japan’s semiconductor and artificial intelligence sectors and help the nation regain its tech edge.After dominating tech in the 1980s, “Japan had quite a long period of almost just sitting back and observing a lot of this innovation,” particularly in artificial intelligence, said Kelly Forbes at the AI Asia Pacific Institute.”What we have seen in the last maybe two to three years is Japan really waking up to the potential” of such developments, she told AFP.

Most markets gained Friday after a bounce on Wall Street, while bitcoin continued its march higher to move within touching distance of the $100,000 mark.Rising geopolitical tensions tempered the atmosphere and lifted oil again after Russia hit Ukraine with a new-generation intermediate-range missile and sent a warning to the West.The gains in equities followed a retreat in most regional bourses Thursday after a forecast-topping earnings report from chip titan Nvidia still fell short of investors’ hopes and sparked worries that a tech-fuelled surge in markets may have run its course.However, all three main indexes on Wall Street ended on a positive note with observers saying traders had dialled back their gloom over Nvidia as they digested pledges by the firm over production of its keenly anticipated Blackwell line-up.Investors also took heart from comments by Chicago Federal Reserve chief Austan Goolsbee, who said he saw interest rates coming down more as the US central bank makes progress in bringing inflation down to its two percent target.He pointed out that regarding the jobs market and prices “things are getting close to where we want to settle”, adding that “it follows that we will probably need to move rates to where we think they should settle, too”.”If we look out over the next year or so, it feels to me like rates will end up a fair bit lower than where they are today,” he said.The remarks helped temper recent worries that the Fed will have to scale back its rate plans if US President-elect Donald Trump pushes through his promised tax cuts and import tariffs, which some warn could reignite inflation.The gains in New York filtered through to Asia.Tokyo climbed as the government prepared to announce a $140 billion stimulus package to kickstart the country’s stuttering economy, while Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Wellington, Mumbai, Bangkok, Taipei and Jakarta also rose.However, Hong Kong and Shanghai sank on a sell-off in tech firms caused by weak earnings from firms including PDD and Baidu. Manila also slipped.London and Paris opened higher while Frankfurt also advanced even after data showed Germany’s economy grew less than initially thought in the third quarter.Bitcoin, meanwhile, set a new record high of $99,505.44.While it later eased back slightly, there is a broad expectation that it will soon burst through $100,000 as investors grow increasingly hopeful that Trump will pass measures to deregulate the crypto sector.Bets on an easier environment for digital units in a Trump White House have seen bitcoin soar more than 40 percent since his election victory this month, while it has more than doubled since the turn of the year.Adding to the positive vibes was news that Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler — who oversaw measures to rein in cryptocurrencies — intends to leave when Trump takes office on January 20, Bloomberg reported. Oil prices extended the previous day’s gains on rising Ukraine worries after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the conflict had characteristics of a “global” war and did not rule out strikes on Western countries.His comments came after Moscow test-fired a new missile at its neighbour, which Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky called a major ramping up of the “scale and brutality” of the war.Both main crude contracts extended the two percent gains seen Thursday when natural gas prices also hit their highest level in a year.- Key figures around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 38,283.85 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.9 percent at 19,229.97 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 3.1 percent at 3,267.19 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 8,202.86Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0487 from $1.0476 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2574 from $1.2587Dollar/yen: UP at 154.72 yen from 154.54 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.40 pence from 83.20 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $70.56 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $74.65 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 1.1 percent at 43,870.35 (close)

Japan’s minority government was set Friday to sign off on a $140-billion stimulus drive aimed at putting more money in consumers’ pockets after the ruling party’s worst election result in 15 years.The October 27 contest saw voters — angry over corruption in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and inflation — deprive new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s coalition of a majority in parliament’s lower house.Chief government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said Friday that the package — reportedly worth 21.9 trillion yen ($141.8 billion) — would be approved by Ishiba’s cabinet later in the day.”The package will have business impacts worth around 39 trillion yen and additional general account spending, which provide backing for the package, will be 13.9 trillion yen,” Hayashi said.”We aim to emerge out of the cost-cut style economy and transfer into the high added value creation economy,” he told reporters.It includes energy and fuel subsidies and cash handouts up to 30,000 yen ($194) to low-income households in the world’s fourth-biggest economy, according to the media.To pay for the package, the second in as many years, the government will table a supplementary budget by the end of the year in the lower house.To win enough lawmakers’ support, Ishiba agreed to include the lifting of an income tax threshold pushed by the opposition Democratic Party for the People (DPP).The smaller party says this will ease labour shortages and boost consumer spending by encouraging part-time staff to work longer hours and earn more.But critics worry that this will reduce tax revenues by trillions of yen and increase Japan’s huge debt pile, which equates to more than 200 percent of gross domestic product.The strain on Japan’s public finances is set to grow with the number of pensioners rising and the number of people working and paying into state coffers projected to decline.- ‘Quiet emergency’ -With the Bank of Japan expected to keep hiking interest rates, this debt mountain will also cost more and more, SMBC Nikko Securities economist Yoshimasa Maruyama said.Tax cuts “must be accompanied by a permanent source of revenue to fill the gap”, Maruyama wrote in a research note.Ishiba, 67, has promised to revitalise depressed rural regions and to address the “quiet emergency” of Japan’s shrinking population with measures to support families such as flexible working hours.Going forward, businesses worry that the need to curry favour with opposition parties means Ishiba will avoid reforms needed to improve Japan’s competitiveness.There are also concerns that the government may pressure the Bank of Japan to go slow on raising interest rates, even if this leads to a weaker yen.Government data Friday put headline inflation last month at a modest 2.3 percent, but it showed rice up nearly 60 percent year-on-year, revealing the pain for ordinary Japanese.The price of the staple rocketed because of hot weather and water shortages and after a “megaquake” warning in August led to hoarding. Record inflows of hungry tourists were also blamed.Separately, Ishiba has promised to spend 10 trillion yen through 2030 to boost Japan’s semiconductor and artificial intelligence sectors and help the nation regain its tech edge.The new stimulus package may include plans for the government to buy a 200-billion-yen stake in next-generation chip venture Rapidus, according to media reports.After dominating tech in the 1980s, “Japan had a quite a long period of almost just sitting back and observing a lot of this innovation, particularly when it comes to artificial intelligence”, said Kelly Forbes at the AI Asia Pacific Institute.”What we have seen in the last maybe two to three years is Japan really waking up to the potential” of such developments, she told AFP.

Most Asian markets gained Friday after a bounce on Wall Street, while bitcoin continued its march higher to move within touching distance of the $100,000 mark.Rising geopolitical tensions tempered the atmosphere and pushed oil higher after Russia hit Ukraine with a new-generation intermediate-range missile and sent a warning to the West.The gains in equities followed a retreat in most regional bourses Thursday after a forecast-topping earnings report from chip titan Nvidia still fell short of investors’ hopes and sparked worries that a tech-fuelled surge in markets may have run its course.However, all three main indexes on Wall Street ended on a positive note with observers saying traders had dialled back their gloom over Nvidia as they digested pledges by the firm over production of its keenly anticipated Blackwell line-up.Investors also took heart from comments by Chicago Federal Reserve chief Austan Goolsbee, who said he saw interest rates coming down more as the US central bank makes progress in bringing inflation down to its two percent target.He pointed out that regarding the jobs market and prices “things are getting close to where we want to settle”, adding that “it follows that we will probably need to move rates to where we think they should settle, too”.”If we look out over the next year or so, it feels to me like rates will end up a fair bit lower than where they are today,” he said.The remarks helped temper recent worries that the Fed will have to scale back its rate plans if US President-elect Donald Trump pushes through his promised tax cuts and import tariffs, which some warn could reignite inflation.The gains in New York filtered through to Asia.Tokyo climbed one percent as the government prepares to announce a $140 billion stimulus package to kickstart the country’s stuttering economy, while Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei and Jakarta also rose.Hong Kong, Shanghai and Manila slipped.Bitcoin, meanwhile, continued its heady run higher and broke $99,000 for the first time.While it eased back slightly soon after, there is a broad expectation that it will soon burst through $100,000 as investors grow increasingly hopeful that Trump will pass measures to deregulate the crypto sector.Bets on an easier environment for digital units in a Trump White House have seen bitcoin soar more than 40 percent since his election victory this month, while it has more than doubled since the turn of the year.Adding to the positive vibes was news that Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler — who oversaw a number of measures to rein in cryptocurrencies — intends to leave when Trump takes office on January 20, Bloomberg reported. Oil prices edged higher on rising Ukraine worries after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the conflict had characteristics of a “global” war and did not rule out strikes on Western countries.His comments came after Moscow test-fired a new missile at its neighbour, which Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky called a major ramping up of the “scale and brutality” of the war.Both main crude contracts extended the two percent gains seen Thursday when natural gas prices also hit their highest level in a year.- Key figures around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 38,415.32 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 19,561.61Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,355.75Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0470 from $1.0476 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2585 from $1.2587Dollar/yen: DOWN at 154.42 yen from 154.54 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.18 pence from 83.20 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $70.39 per barrel    Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $74.49 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 1.1 percent at 43,870.35 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 8,149.27 (close)

Global stocks mostly rose Thursday following strong earnings from artificial intelligence leader Nvidia as bitcoin prices zoomed near $100,000 and oil prices rose.Nvidia itself had a volatile day, finishing modestly higher after several reversals. The chip company reported a whopping $19 billion in profits, although investors wondered if its current rate of stupendous growth is sustainable.But stocks rose as a “relief trade” after the Nvidia report, said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare, who noted that investors had feared a disappointing Nvidia announcement would spark a tech sell-off.All three major US indices rose, led by the Dow, which won more than one percent.The pickup on US markets also helped European bourses shake off early weakness.O’Hare called Thursday’s rally a “broad-based move,” noting nine of 11 US sectors rose and adding that investors are hopeful about a year-end rally.But worsening tensions between Russia and Ukraine also loom as a risk.Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the conflict in Ukraine had characteristics of a “global” war and did not rule out strikes on Western countries.Putin spoke out after a day of frayed nerves, with Russia test-firing a new generation intermediate-range missile at Ukraine.Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky branded the strike a major ramping up of the “scale and brutality” of the war by a “crazy neighbor”, while Kyiv’s main backer the United States said that Russia was to blame for escalating the conflict “at every turn”.The tension helped push oil prices up around two percent and played a role in lifting natural gas prices to their highest level in a year.The dollar also continued to push higher, boosted by the falling odds of further Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, as well as the greenback’s status as a haven currency.But the day’s most impressive action may have been bitcoin, which soared above $99,000. The cryptocurrency has been lifted by expectations that Donald Trump, spurred by cryptocurrency cheerleader Elon Musk, will bring it further into everyday use upon re-entering the White House in January.”Will Americans be able to use crypto to pay their taxes in the future? There is a bigger possibility of this happening now than before the election,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.In Asia, shares in Indian conglomerate Adani Group tanked after US prosecutors charged its owner Gautam Adani with handing out more than $250 million in bribes for key contracts.Flagship operation Adani Enterprises dived almost 20 percent, while several of its subsidiaries — from coal to media businesses — lost 10 to 20 percent. Among other companies, Google parent Alphabet tumbled 4.6 percent after the Justice Department asked a federal court to order Google to sell its widely used Chrome browser in a major antitrust crackdown.DOJ also asked the court to ban deals for Google to be the default search engine on smartphones and prevent it from exploiting its Android mobile operating system.- Key figures around 2130 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 1.1 percent at 43,870.35 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 5,948.71 (close)New York – Nasdaq: UP less than 0.1 percent at 18,972.42 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 8,149.27 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,213.32 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 19,146.17 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 38,026.17 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.5 percent at 19,601.11 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,370.40 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0476 from $1.0544 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2587 from $1.2652Dollar/yen: DOWN at 154.54 yen from 155.44 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.20 pence from 83.33 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 2.0 percent at $74.23 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 2.0 percent at $70.10 per barrel    

Visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday his country is interested in oil from Guyana, the small South American nation with the world’s highest per capita crude reserves.In a speech to parliament, Modi said demand for energy in India is growing and it is diversifying its sources.”In this regard, we view Guyana as an important energy source,” Modi said.On Wednesday, Indian foreign ministry official Jaideep Mazumdar told reporters his country wants predictability as it buys oil.”We need large quantities and if we were to know well in advance the quantities that are available, the contracts would be much more easy to conclude,” said Mazumdar.India wants prices set in advance but Guyana’s Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, said Wednesday his country did not want to make that commitment.Guyana, which sits on the northeast coast of South America and borders Venezuela, produces just over 600,000 barrels per day of crude oil but aims to double this by 2030.On Wednesday the two countries signed a series of cooperation agreements in agriculture, military affairs and hydrocarbon fuel.Some 40 percent of the population of Guyana is of Indian origin.

Stock markets mostly rose in Europe and on Wall Street on Thursday, recovering from recent selling but with investors wary of the escalating Ukraine war on Europe’s doorstep. Quarterly earnings from the AI chip giant Nvidia also gave investors reason for pause, after failing to match the sky-high expectations of many analysts that could underpin further tech stock gains.But bitcoin resumed its march higher at around $97,000 on expectations that Donald Trump, spurred by cryptocurrency cheerleader Elon Musk, will bring it further into everyday use upon re-entering the White House in January.”Will Americans be able to use crypto to pay their taxes in future? There is a bigger possibility of this happening now than before the election,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.Stocks in Asia had opened lower in the wake of Wall Street weakness Wednesday ahead of the Nvidia report, which showed a $19 billion quarterly profit on red-hot demand for its artificial intelligence chips.While above expectations, it was not the blockbuster profit many investors had hoped for, and weighed on European markets for much of the session.But after a hesitant opening US stocks bounced higher, pulling European indices into positive territory at their close. Analysts cautioned however that with Washington saying Russia had used an “experimental” midrange ballistic missile against Ukraine, caution will remain the watchword.That caution helped push up the dollar, long seen as a haven in times of uncertainty.Oil prices also rose “as geopolitical tensions outweighed concerns over rising US crude supplies”, said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. “Geopolitical fears have also sent gold higher in recent sessions as investors look for some safety as Russia-Ukraine tensions escalate,” he added.Further deterioration of the conflict ahead of Trump’s return to the presidency would add to unease about how his tax and tariff plans could play out on global business in the coming months.In Asia, shares in Indian conglomerate Adani Group tanked after US prosecutors charged its owner Gautam Adani with handing out more than $250 million in bribes for key contracts.Flagship operation Adani Enterprises dived almost 20 percent, while several of its subsidiaries — from coal to media businesses — lost 10 to 20 percent. – Key figures around 1655 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 43,775.11 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 5,929.45New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.5 percent at 18,881.36London – FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 8,149.27 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,213.32 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 19,146.17 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 38,026.17 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.5 percent at 19,601.11 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,370.40 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0482 from $1.0545 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2593 from $1.2652Dollar/yen: UP at 154.55 yen from 155.45 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.23 pence from 83.33 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.5 percent at $73.89 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.6 percent at $69.88 per barrel    

Stock markets were little changed in Europe and on Wall Street Thursday after Ukraine claimed that Moscow fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, ratcheting up fears of further escalation in the war on Europe’s doorstep.Quarterly earnings from the AI chip giant Nvidia also gave investors reason for pause, failing to match the sky-high expectations of many analysts that might underpin further tech stock gains.But bitcoin resumed its march higher at around $97,000 on expectations that Donald Trump, spurred by cryptocurrency cheerleader Elon Musk, will bring it further into everyday use upon re-entering the White House in January.”Will Americans be able to use crypto to pay their taxes in future? There is a bigger possibility of this happening now than before the election,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.But the mood was decidedly more cautious in mainstream markets after this week’s developments in the Ukraine war, with the US and Britain authorising Kyiv to make long-distance strikes into Russia, prompting warnings of retaliation by Moscow.Ukraine’s claim Thursday that Moscow had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time in combat added to uncertainty over what might come next.Oil prices also rose “as geopolitical tensions outweighed concerns over rising US crude supplies”, said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. “Geopolitical fears have also sent gold higher in recent sessions as investors look for some safety as Russia-Ukraine tensions escalate,” he added.Asian stocks had mostly fallen earlier Thursday under pressure from Nvidia’s earnings, though analysts said profit-taking was unlikely to dampen enthusiasm for the key AI player. “The negative market reaction to Nvidia’s results suggests investors are now focusing on the minutiae rather than the big picture,” said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.”That’s a natural evolution as the more people zoom in on a company, the more they learn about it, and the more granular detail they want.”Elsewhere on the corporate front, shares in Indian conglomerate Adani Group tanked after US prosecutors charged its owner Gautam Adani with handing out more than $250 million in bribes for key contracts.Flagship operation Adani Enterprises dived almost 20 percent, while several of its subsidiaries — from coal to media businesses — lost 10 to 20 percent. – Key figures around 1455 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 43,489.58 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 5,907.37New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.4 percent at 18,887.91London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,123.38Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,190.62Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 19,065.93Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 38,026.17 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.5 percent at 19,601.11 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,370.40 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0531 from $1.0545 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2632 from $1.2652Dollar/yen: DOWN at 154.09 yen from 155.45 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.38 pence from 83.33 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.3 percent at $74.07 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.3 percent at $70.04 per barrel    

Kenyan President William Ruto sought Thursday to turn the page on a difficult year, cancelling controversial deals with India’s Adani Group and vowing to tackle corruption, police kidnappings and gender-based violence.With the country on edge over multiple issues, there was a heavy police presence around parliament in Nairobi ahead of Ruto’s annual state of the nation address.His speech did not shy away from the many controversies dogging his administration.The biggest shock was his announcement that India’s Adani Group would no longer be involved in plans to expand Kenya’s electricity network and its main airport, Jomo Kenyatta International.The Adani Group was to invest $1.85 billion in the Jomo Kenyatta airport and $736 million in state-owned utility KETRACO, despite claims of corruption in the procurement process.The final straw may have come when the Indian group’s founder Gautam Adani was charged in the United States on Wednesday with massive bribery and fraud.Ruto said his decision was based on “new information provided by investigative agencies and partner nations”.He also addressed the deep concern in Kenya over a spate of abductions by security forces following mass protests between June and August over an unpopular finance bill.Rights groups accuse the security forces of a brutal crackdown, with more than 60 people killed during the protests and dozens kidnapped in the following months, many of them tortured and some killed.Ruto said many of the detentions were legitimate actions against “criminals and subversive elements”. But he added: “I condemn any excessive or extrajudicial action which puts the life and liberty of any person at risk, including disappearances and threats to life.”He also addressed gender-based violence after reports that 97 women have been murdered in the last three months alone. To loud cheers from the women in parliament, Ruto called on all society to help raise boys “into morally upright men who will never need to affirm their masculinity at the expense of women”.- ‘Times are hard’ -Ruto won a hard-fought election in 2022 with a pitch to help the country’s poor.But large debts have left Kenya spending more on interest payments than health and education.While economic growth has remained relatively strong at 5.4 percent last year, a third of Kenya’s 52 million people live in poverty.”It is undeniable that for many Kenyans times are hard and the struggle to meet their basic daily needs is daunting,” Ruto said.But he listed a series of successes, including taming inflation — down from 9.6 percent to 2.7 percent over two years — stabilising the currency and increasing agricultural production. He also heralded a new health insurance scheme, which has been beset by technical difficulties since its launch last month, vowing that it would ultimately provide “accessible and affordable” healthcare across the country.Ruto came into his speech with an urgent need to reset his presidency after mounting criticism, including from church leaders, over abductions, the cost-of-living crisis and corruption.Recent weeks have also seen international condemnation over the forced extradition of foreign nationals kidnapped on Kenyan soil, including four Turkish refugees and the Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye.