San Francisco Frontiers - Stocks falter before ECB but gold shines after Powell

The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to freeze borrowing costs again as sticky eurozone inflation prevents a reduction, while investors are on tenterhooks on the eve of critical US non-farm payrolls data.

Gold spiked to a new all-time peak at $2,161.48 per ounce to extend its record-breaking run and bitcoin steadied after also scaling historic heights this week, but oil slid on profit-taking after strong gains Wednesday.

"Markets are taking a more cautious approach... with traders waiting patiently for the upcoming ECB and US jobs report uncertainty to clear," said Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony.

"Despite a somewhat cautious approach, Powell's confidence that we will see monetary easing over the course of this year sparked a fresh move lower for the dollar.

"With the greenback coming under renewed pressure, we have seen commodities come back into favour," Mahony added.

A weaker US currency makes dollar-denominated commodities cheaper for buyers using stronger unit, which tends to boost demand and support higher price levels.

Focus is turning toward Friday's US jobs data following a positive set of figures showing the labour market remained healthy but appeared to be softening.

In closely watched testimony before lawmakers Wednesday, Powell flagged progress on bringing inflation towards the Fed's two percent goal and said borrowing costs could be lowered as a result.

He warned that the battle was far from over, while investors are eyeing a first move in June after their March hopes were scrubbed by a strong inflation report last month.

"If the economy evolves broadly as expected, it will likely be appropriate to begin dialling back policy restraint at some point this year," Powell told the House Financial Services Committee.

"But the economic outlook is uncertain, and ongoing progress toward our two percent inflation objective is not assured," he added.

While prices have been tempered by the Fed's decision to push rates to a two-decade high, officials have lined up to warn that cutting them too early could erase all their hard work.

On Thursday, UK gambling giant Entain topped London's fallers to slump six percent after it logged a post-tax annual loss and issued a profit warning over the impact of increased regulation on 2024 earnings.

On the upside, British business services group Rentokil Initial saw its share price soar more than 15 percent after posting sharply higher annual profit.

- Key figures around 1130 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,659.67 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,958.42

Frankfurt - DAX: FLAT at 17,716.12

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3 percent at 4,931.22

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.2 percent at 39,598.71 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.3 percent at 16,229.78 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,027.40 (close)

New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 38,661.05 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0896 from $1.0899 on Wednesday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.91 yen from 149.44 yen

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2749 from $1.2732

Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.44 pence from 85.58 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.9 percent at $82.21 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.8 percent at $78.50 per barrel

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H.Davis--SFF