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With Coldplay and Ed Sheeran among the superstars who have played to packed-out crowds in India recently, there is increasing talk that the world’s most populous nation could soon become a mainstay of the global touring schedule.However, a lack of world-class venues to host big-name events has left fans wanting, with complaints ranging from filthy conditions, poor security and technical problems among the issues causing headaches for organisers.Booming demand from young affluent Indians looking to splurge on new entertainment experiences are drawing international acts as well as hugely popular homegrown stars.Big-name stars have in the past overlooked the country, given the historically low spending power of its consumers.But while per capita income remains low at $2,500, investment bankers Goldman Sachs estimate that the number of Indians with annual earnings of more than $10,000 has jumped from 24 million in 2015 to 60 million in 2023.That has helped attract the sort of talent unthought of just a decade ago, with Dua Lipa playing to packed crowds last year and US chart-toppers Maroon 5 playing their first gig in the country.Robin Hood crooner Bryan Adams played a number of sold-out venues across country in 2024, while other artists like Green Day and Shawn Mendes will perform later this year.”A decade ago, India was not on their radar,” said Deepak Choudhary, event management entrepeneur and founder of EVA Live.”It’s a hungry audience sitting across the country,” he said, adding that he believes India’s music event industry is on track to catch up with markets such as Britain, Japan or Germany within three to five years.”You give them good content and they are happy to explore.”The number of live events in India rose almost a fifth last year, according to the country’s largest ticketing platform BookMyShow, which called music tourism a “defining trend”.- ‘Biggest-ever show’ -Coldplay last month performed what the band called its “biggest-ever show”, at a huge cricket stadium named after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad.Their tour prompted a wild scramble for tickets, which were priced from around $30-$420.”As soon as they announced the concert dates, I booked my flight ticket, I booked my stay because I wanted to get there first,” said Monica Sawant, 36, who travelled fromBengaluru to see them in Mumbai.But demand was so high she was forced to purchase from ticket touts.”I caved in… I thought I would not make it,” she explained, paying $125 for a $55 ticket.After the Coldplay show, Modi praised what he dubbed the “concert economy”, saying “India has a massive scope for live concerts”.However, not all cities have the infrastructure needed to host massive live events, with BookMyShow’s CEO Ashish Hemrajani likening the experience economy boom in an interview to “starting an airline but not having an airport”. Fans complain that makeshift venues can have poor sanitation, non-existent crowd-control measures and terrible traffic to reach the venue with little parking space.”It was awful,” said Ruchi Shukla, 27, describing her experience at a show last year in Gurgaon, a satellite city of New Delhi.”You had to fight to get into the venue, fight to get out, and even during the concert you had to fight to hear the singer.”Other performers ranging from Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh to South African comedian Trevor Noah have publicly complained about Indian venuesNoah in 2023 performed to sellout crowds in New Delhi and Mumbai, but scrapped shows in tech-capital Bengaluru as the audience could not hear him.In January, US band Cigarettes After Sex also cancelled a concert in Bengaluru owing to “technical difficulties” blamed on “local production”.- ‘Teething issues’ -Avid concert-goer Sheldon Aranjo grabbed public attention in December by writing a public post after wetting himself at a Bryan Adams show, saying there was a lack of toilets.”We are bringing international acts, we are paying on par with people abroad,” he told AFP. “Why can’t I expect an international quality event?”But organisers such as Tej Brar, who oversees one of India’s biggest music festivals, NH7, said they were “teething issues”.”These are just growing pains, as we come into our own as an industry,” Brar said.And EVA Live’s Choudhary was confident success will bring investment and help India “move past infrastructure challenges”.Economists at Bank of Baroda estimate the spate of shows could translate into annual spending of up to $918 million, as organisers pump money into local economies and consumers shell out on everything from hotels to flights.It is a bright spot in an otherwise sluggish economy.”We are opening a door for something that is new,” said Bank of Baroda economist Jahnavi Prabhakar.”This is a big boost, something like we’ve never seen before. It’s a big boom for us.”

Smoke billows from chimneys as factories churn in South Korea’s steelmaking heartland, now under threat from Washington’s swingeing new tariffs on the port city’s largest export.The city of Pohang on South Korea’s east coast for decades pumped out the steel that fuelled the country’s breakneck economic rise.South Korea was the fourth largest exporter of the metal to the United States last year, accounting for 13 percent of its total steel imports.But the industry has faced intense strain in recent years from foreign competition.And businesses, officials and workers in the city now fear a planned 25 percent tariff on all steel imports to the United States beginning next month could have devastating impacts — and major knock-on effects on South Korea’s economy.”The steel industry is a vital national industry that serves as a fundamental material for key sectors such as construction, automotive and shipbuilding,” Pohang’s mayor Lee Kang-deok told AFP.”If the steel industry collapses, the entire South Korean economy will be destabilised,” Lee warned. “If we fail to respond effectively to President Trump’s tariff measures, our country’s economy could face an even greater shock, leading to an irreversible situation.”- ‘Steel city’ -Lying around 270 kilometres (168 miles) southeast of Seoul, Pohang has carved out a rare place as a key industrial hub in a country beset by deepening regional inequality — and where most resources are tightly concentrated in the capital.It is home to the nation’s top steelmaker, POSCO, a major force in South Korea’s industrialisation and development as an export powerhouse, alongside giants like Hyundai Steel and Dongkuk Steel.”Pohang has long been a symbolic steel city that has supported South Korea for decades, serving as a backbone for the country’s development,” said Bang Sung-jun, a former Hyundai Steel worker and an official at the Korean Metal Workers’ Union’s Pohang branch.”The steel industry has provided quality jobs and sustained the local economy,” he told AFP, while acknowledging the pollution produced and the often dangerous conditions for workers in the industry.How those workers respond to the current crisis, he added, “will determine whether the city of Pohang can sustain its steel industry, putting its very survival at stake”.- ‘Significant’ impact -South Korea’s steel industry has faced intense pressure in recent years as it grapples with oversupply — particularly from China — and a decrease in global demand.The US tariffs are likely to intensify those challenges, and analysts warn that should cheap Chinese steel barred from the US market begin to flood regions like Southeast Asia and Europe, South Korean steel producers will face deepening price competition.”Trump’s protectionism certainly will affect South Korea’s long-suffering steel industry, already squeezed by low-price exports from China and unfavourable Japanese yen exchange rate,” Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korea studies at the University of Oslo, told AFP.”The impact will be significant,” he said.Some suggest the tariffs could offer opportunities for South Korean firms to find new export markets.But for workers in Pohang, where several mills have already shut down, job security and the threat of further layoffs overshadow any potential benefits.AFP reporters visited a factory owned by Hyundai Steel which closed late last year. It did not appear to be operating and was guarded by a handful of staff at the time of the visit.Journalists saw signs hung by unionised workers criticising the management and demanding an apology, and through an open door, what looked like debris piled up inside.”For us workers, it has always been a crisis without any opportunities,” said Bang, the unionist.Worker Lee Woo-man, who has worked as a subcontractor for POSCO for two decades, told AFP that 20 of his colleagues have lost their jobs in the past year.He expected employment in the city to “decrease even more” over the next four years and believes Trump’s tariffs will speed up the decline of the city, which he said has lost the vibrancy it had when he was young.Lee said he grew up watching the smoke rise from the chimneys of massive mills, thinking to himself: “POSCO is feeding Pohang”.But now that view makes him worry.”I don’t know when this will all fall apart.”

Stock markets diverged and the dollar dipped on Friday as traders tracked US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement, economic data and earnings.Wall Street indices were mixed at the end of the session with the S&P 500 near flat.That came despite data showing that US retail sales fell by a more-than-expected 0.9 percent in January from December.Analysts pointed out that was due in part to the December figure being revised higher.The drop was due partly to bad weather that depressed demand, but the result could also show “a little consumer fatigue,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.Investors largely shrugged at data earlier this week showing an increase in consumer price inflation and higher-than-expected wholesale price inflation.”The stock market continues to maintain this resilient disposition,” said O’Hare, who pointed to strong corporate earnings as an offset to concerns about tariffs and an uptick in inflation.But a rebound in inflation, or persistent inflation at a high level, would make it difficult for the Federal Reserve to cut rates further.Markets also continued to follow the latest trade developments.The European Union on Friday vowed to respond “firmly and immediately” to trade barriers after Trump unveiled tariffs that could hit US allies and competitors. Trump on Thursday said he had decided to impose reciprocal duties, in a dramatic escalation of an international trade war he has unleashed since taking office in January, but the measures will not go into effect until a study is completed. Despite rising trade tensions, investor sentiment has largely held up in the hope that many of the tariffs can be rowed back with negotiations, while Trump’s announcement of plans to hold Ukraine peace talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has added some optimism.”Tariff ambiguity still reigns but markets are currently drawing some comfort from the news” of the delay, said National Australia Bank’s head of currencies research and markets, Ray Attrill.Hong Kong led the way among major stock markets on Friday, closing up more than three percent, as tech firms extended their recent surge on a Bloomberg report that China had invited Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma and other top entrepreneurs to meet Beijing’s top brass.That fueled hopes of fresh support for the private sector.Alibaba piled on 6.3 percent, while JD.com and Tencent each rose more than seven percent.European markets ended the day mixed.- Key figures around 2130 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 44,546.08 (close)New York – S&P 500: FLAT at 6,114.63 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 20,026.77 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 8,732.46 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 8,178.54 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 22,513.42 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 39,149.43 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 3.7 percent at 22,620.33 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,346.72 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0495 from $1.0465 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2587 from $1.2566Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.25 from 152.80 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.36 pence from 83.27 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $74.74 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.8 percent at $70.74 per barrelburs-jmb/st

Stock markets diverged and the dollar dipped Friday as traders tracked US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement, economic data and earnings.The European Union on Friday vowed to respond “firmly and immediately” to trade barriers after Trump unveiled tariffs that could hit allies and competitors. Trump on Thursday said he had decided to impose reciprocal duties, in a dramatic escalation of an international trade war he has unleashed since taking office in January. The president has unveiled a range of hardball measures to bring an end to what he says is years of countries taking advantage of the United States, fuelling trade war fears and leading to warnings of another inflation spike.However, investor sentiment has largely held up on hopes that many of the tariffs can be rowed back with negotiations, while Trump’s announcement of plans to hold Ukraine peace talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has added some optimism.US commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick said studies on where and who to hit should be completed by April 1, and the tariffs could start the day after — providing some relief to investors.”Tariff ambiguity still reigns, but markets are currently drawing some comfort from the news” of the delay, said National Australia Bank’s head of currencies research and markets, Ray Attrill.Observers said there appeared to be a feeling on trading floors that the measures were being used as a negotiating tactic by the White House.Hong Kong led the way among major stock markets Friday, closing up more than three percent.Tech firms extended their recent surge on a Bloomberg report that China had invited Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma and other top entrepreneurs to meet Beijing’s top brass, fuelling hopes of fresh support for the private sector.Alibaba piled on 6.3 percent, while JD.com and Tencent each rose more than seven percent.Tokyo’s index dropped despite an 8.7-percent surge in Sony following a healthy earnings report as well as rallies in Nissan and Honda a day after they confirmed the scrapping of merger talks.Paris was slightly higher nearing the half-way stage, while Frankfurt and London slipped heading into the weekend break.French luxury giant Hermes reported record earnings for 2024 and confirmed an “ambitious” growth target for this year despite geopolitical and economic uncertainty.Official data meanwhile showed that the eurozone economy grew by 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, a welcome revision after preliminary figures showed growth slowed to a halt.Wall Street closed higher Thursday thanks to a rally in the tech sector. The S&P 500 ended just short of a record and the Nasdaq put on more than two percent.New York traders were largely unmoved by a forecast-topping rise in US wholesale prices last month, which followed Wednesday’s hotter-than-expected consumer inflation data which dented hopes for another interest rate cut.- Key figures around 1100 GMT -London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,738.33 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 8,180.20Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 22,531.56Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 39,149.43 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 3.7 percent at 22,620.33 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,346.72 (close)New York – Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 44,711.43 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0465 from $1.0467 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2574 from $1.2586Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.55 from 152.76 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.21 pence from 83.28 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $75.23 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $71.41 per barrel

Alibaba shares soared by more than six percent on Friday following reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping was poised to meet with the tech juggernaut’s co-founder Jack Ma.Alibaba, which has already surged more than 40 percent in 2025, piled on 6.3 percent after also being given an extra leg-up Thursday when its chairman said it would supply AI technology to power Apple’s iPhones in China.Since coming to power more than a decade ago, Xi has consistently sought to bolster the role of state enterprises in the world’s second-largest economy and warned against the “disorderly” expansion of private business.He oversaw a sweeping crackdown on the tech sector that in 2020 brought the shock cancellation of Alibaba affiliate Ant Group’s blockbuster IPO — notably after Ma made a speech criticising Chinese regulators.Ma has kept a low public profile since then, but Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter, that Xi was preparing to meet him alongside other eminent entrepreneurs.The talks could take place as soon as next week and reportedly may include Liang Wenfeng, the founder of DeepSeek, the insurgent tech firm whose AI chatbot has caused a global stir in recent weeks.China’s commerce ministry did not immediately respond to a faxed AFP request for comment.Xi’s prospective meeting with business luminaries would send a strong signal of support for the private sector at a time when China’s economy is groaning under a protracted property crisis, persistently low consumption, and high local government debt.It would also hint at the rehabilitation of Ma, a former English teacher who founded Alibaba in 1999 and built it into one of China’s most recognisable and dominant private companies.But in the years since the scuttled Ant IPO, the magnate once known for his electrifying public persona has eschewed the limelight, ostensibly to focus on philanthropy and rural education.The stock rally adds to a promising week for Alibaba, whose chairman said Thursday that the company would supply artificial intelligence technology to power Apple’s iPhones in China.Joseph Tsai said at a summit in Dubai that regulatory issues meant Apple, which has lost its status as the smartphone market leader in China, “need to work with Chinese companies that develop AI”.

The Japanese government said Friday it will release a fifth of its emergency rice stockpile after hot weather, poor harvests and panic buying over a “megaquake” warning nearly doubled prices over a year.Japan has previously tapped into its reserves to cope with disasters, but this marked the first time since the stockpile was built in 1995 that it was doing so because of supply chain problems.Some supermarket shelves were emptied in August of rice following a week-long holiday, a series of typhoons and warnings of a looming major earthquake that has so far failed to materialise.The government had initially hoped prices would stabilise late last year once newly harvested rice arrived in stores, but inflation continued unabated, this time because some distributors were hoarding for fear of running out.Agriculture Minister Taku Eto told reporters on Friday the government will release 210,000 tonnes of rice from its stock of one million tonnes.”I hope you will take this as our strong determination to improve at all costs the situation where distribution has been delayed and stuck,” he said.Rice prices had already began to change consumption patterns for some like Tokyo resident Eriko Kato. “I still do buy rice occasionally, but since it’s so expensive I sometimes give up on buying it once I see the price,” Kato, 41, told AFP. A five-kilogramme (11-pound) bag was retailing at 3,688 yen ($24) in the last week of January, according to a government survey, up from 2,023 yen last year.- Cashing in on crisis -The law for the government to stockpile the grain was enacted in 1995 after a major rice crop failure two years earlier sent shoppers scrambling to buy the staple.Masayuki Ogawa, assistant professor at Utsunomiya University, told AFP that a series of factors had contributed to the current crisis.Among them is the tourism boom and shortage triggered by the extreme heat in 2023 — joint record hottest summer.The crisis was exacerbated by distributors that were believed to be hoarding in hopes of cashing in later, he said.”It’s suspected that some distributors are trying to make a profit, waiting for the price hike,” he explained.But he estimates the price increase could stop if these distributors are forced to release their rice after the government’s move.The reserve release is “a complicated operation,” as government intervention could impact the stability of rice production and producers’ earnings in the long term, he said.To prevent the distorting effect, the government is required to buy back the same amount of rice it released within a year.Rice consumption in Japan has more than halved in the past 60 years to about 50.9 kilogrammes (112 pounds) in 2022, but the grain remains deeply ingrained in Japanese culture and its harvesting has shaped the nation’s landscape — even being used in Shinto rituals.Tokyo resident Kato says she “sometimes just switches to noodles like udon or soba instead” because rice is more expensive. But “rice is food for our soul,” she said. “It is important.”

Asian markets mostly rose Friday in line with a rally on Wall Street as traders were buoyed by news that US President Donald Trump’s latest reciprocal tariffs would not likely be implemented until April, giving time for negotiations.The president has unveiled a range of hardball measures to bring an end to what he says is years of countries taking advantage of the United States, fuelling trade war fears and leading to warnings of another inflation spike.However, investor sentiment has largely held up on hopes that many of the tariffs can be rowed back with negotiations, while Trump’s announcement of plans to hold Ukraine peace talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has added some optimism.The Republican said Thursday he decided to impose fresh reciprocal duties on trading partners, telling reporters that US allies were often “worse than our enemies” on trade, calling the European Union “absolutely brutal”.”Whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them,” he added.However, commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick said studies on where and who to hit should be completed by April 1, and the tariffs could start the day after — providing some relief to investors.”Tariff ambiguity still reigns, but markets are currently drawing some comfort from the news,” said National Australia Bank’s head of forex research and markets Ray Attrill.The move came days after Trump signed executive orders imposing 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminium, due to come into effect on March 12.Observers said there appeared to be a feeling on trading floors that the measures were being used as a negotiating tactic by the White House.Asian markets enjoyed a broadly positive end to the week.Hong Kong gained more than three percent as tech firms extended their recent surge, boosted by a Bloomberg report that China had invited Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma and other top entrepreneurs to meet Beijing’s top brass, fuelling hopes of fresh support for the private sector.Alibaba piled on 6.3 percent, while JD.com and Tencent each rose more than seven percent.Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Wellington and Jakarta were also well up. Tokyo dropped despite an 8.7 percent surge in Sony following a healthy earnings report as well as rallies in Nissan and Honda a day after they confirmed the scrapping of merger talks.Singapore, Bangkok, Mumbai and Taipei also fell.London and Paris opened lower, while Frankfurt came off Thursday’s record high.Wall Street provided a strong lead thanks to a rally in the tech sector. The S&P 500 ended just short of a record and the Nasdaq put on more than two percent.New York traders were largely unmoved by a forecast-topping rise in US wholesale prices last month, which followed Wednesday’s report on the consumer price index that also came in above expectations and dented hopes for another interest rate cut.- Key figures around 0815 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 39,149.43 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 3.7 percent at 22,620.33 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,346.72 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,740.14Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0465 from $1.0467 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2566 from $1.2586Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.72 yen from 152.76 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.26 pence from 83.28 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $71.63 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $75.45 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 44,711.43 (close)

Taiwan will boost investment in the United States and on its own defences, President Lai Ching-te said Friday, as Taipei seeks to head off US President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs on its semiconductor chips. The self-ruled island is a global power in the manufacturing of chips, which are used in everything from smartphones to missiles and are a key driver of its economy.Trump has accused Taiwan of stealing the US chip industry and recently threatened to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on the product in an effort to drive companies to shift manufacturing to the United States.Taiwan would “expand investment and procurement in the United States to promote bilateral trade balance”, Lai told reporters after a high-level national security meeting on US trade and tariffs.Taiwan’s trade surplus with the United States soared about 83 percent to a record US$64.9 billion in 2024.When it came to Trump’s concerns about Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, Lai said the government would respond “prudently”.”I would like to emphasise that Taiwan, as the world’s most powerful semiconductor country, has the ability and willingness to cope with the new situation,” Lai said.Taiwan was willing to work with democratic partners such as the United States to build a “more resilient and diversified semiconductor supply chain”, Lai said.Taiwan’s TSMC, which is the world’s largest chipmaker, has long been under pressure to move more of its production away from Taiwan, where the bulk of its fabrication plants are located.TSMC’s new factories overseas include three planned in the United States and one that opened in Japan last year.To show its determination to protect the island, the government will also prioritise “special budgets” to increase defence spending to more than three percent of gross domestic product, Lai said, compared with about 2.5 percent last year.Taiwan lives under the constant threat of an attack by China, which claims the island as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.While Taiwan has a homegrown defence industry and has been upgrading its equipment, it relies heavily on US arms sales to bolster its security capabilities.Asked if he was concerned Taiwan could become “a pawn” in US-China competition, Lai said the island was “an indispensable member of the world and the region”.”We are a player, not a pawn,” he added. 

Asian markets mostly rose Friday in line with a rally on Wall Street as traders were buoyed by news that Donald Trump’s latest, sweeping reciprocal tariffs would not likely be implemented until April, giving time for negotiations.The president has unveiled a range of hardball measures to bring an end to what he says is years of countries taking advantage of the United States, fuelling trade war fears and leading to warnings of another inflation spike.However, investor sentiment has largely held up on hopes that many of the tariffs can be rowed back with negotiations, while Trump’s announcement of plans to hold Ukraine peace talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has added some optimism.The Republican said Thursday he had decided to impose fresh reciprocal duties on trading partners, telling reporters that US allies were often “worse than our enemies” on trade, calling the European Union “absolutely brutal”.”Whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them,” he added.However, commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick said studies on where and who to hit should be completed by April 1, and the tariffs could start the day after — providing some relief to investors.”Tariff ambiguity still reigns, but market are currently drawing some comfort from the news the next set won’t come into effect before April, thereby instilling some hope they could yet be negotiated away (or down),” said National Australia Bank’s head of forex research and markets Ray Attrill.The move came days after Trump signed executive orders imposing new 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminium, due to come into effect on March 12.Observers said there appeared to be a feeling on trading floors that the measures were being used as a negotiating tactic by the White House.Asian markets enjoyed a broadly positive end to the week.Hong Kong gained more than one percent, with Sydney, Seoul, Wellington and Manila following suit. Tokyo dropped despite a surge in Sony following a healthy earnings report as well as rallies in Nissan and Honda a day after they confirmed the scrapping of merger talks.Shanghai, Singapore and Taipei also fell.That came after a strong performance on Wall Street fuelled by a rally in the tech sector. The S&P 500 ended just short of a record and the Nasdaq put on more than two percent.New York traders were largely unmoved by a forecast-topping rise in US wholesale prices last month, which followed Wednesday’s report on the consumer price index that also came in above expectations and dented hopes for another interest rate cut.- Key figures around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 39,287.30 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.8 percent at 22,195.99Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,325.92Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0461 from $1.0467 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2567 from $1.2586Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.56 yen from 152.76 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.24 pence from 83.28 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $71.48 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $75.28 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 44,711.43 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 8,764.72 (close) 

Major stock markets mostly rose Thursday on hopes for an end to the war in Ukraine and as US President Trump announced a trade policy shake-up but held off on specific new levies. London was a rare faller owing to sharp losses to share prices of big companies, including Unilever, Barclays and British American Tobacco, on mixed earnings. That overshadowed news that the UK economy surprisingly grew in late 2024.US President Donald Trump’s talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to start negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine “has fostered a risk-on attitude among investors”, said Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer at Zaye Capital Markets.The positive showing “is a result of the potential reduction in geopolitical risks”, he added.Paris and Frankfurt won solid gains. Major US indices joined them, with the S&P 500 winning one percent.Trump unveiled a “fair and reciprocal plan” for trade, ordering a review of tariffs on US goods and directing officials to propose remedies, a step towards potentially wide-ranging tariffs on allies and competitors.But Wall Street was encouraged that the plan did not include immediate levies.Investors are “taking comfort” in the “idea that it’s negotiable and not coming into effect immediately,” said Tom Cahill of Ventura Wealth Management.US investors also shrugged off data showing a bigger than expected uptick in US wholesale prices in January, adding to concerns about worsening pricing pressure after Wednesday’s consumer price data also exceeded estimates. Some analysts also noted that the details of Thursday’s US inflation report were less troubling than the headline figures.But the dollar weakened after traders concluded the reciprocal tariffs will “either be tolerable for partners, negotiated away or never implemented,” said Adam Button, currency analyst at ForexLive.Among individual stocks, Nestle surged more than six percent in Zurich after the Swiss food giant posted better-than-expected annual sales.But Deere & Company fell 2.2 percent as it navigates a tough agriculture market with the depressed state of farm income and higher interest rates that make equipment purchases difficult.The company’s revenues fell more than 30 percent last year, while it projected broad-based decline again in 2025.- Key figures around 2150 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 44,711.43 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 1.0 percent at 6,115.07 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.5 percent at 19,945.64 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 8,764.72 (close) Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.5 percent at 8,164.11 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 2.1 percent at 22,612.02 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.3 percent at 39,461.47 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 21,814.37 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,332.48 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0467 from $1.0383 on WednesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2586 from $1.2446Dollar/yen: DOWN at 152.76 yen from 154.42 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.28 pence from 83.42 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $71.29 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $75.02 per barrelburs-jmb