San Francisco Frontiers - Stocks fall as investors eye Trump-Xi talks, earnings

US President Donald Trump described his meeting in South Korea with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping -- their first since 2019, during Trump's first term -- as "amazing".

The two leaders agreed to calm the US-China trade war that has roiled global markets, with Washington cutting some tariffs and Beijing committing to keep supplies of critical rare earths flowing.

Stock market reactions were subdued, with Asian and European markets lower on Thursday.

"Looking ahead, the main events today will be Apple and Amazon earnings, along with the ECB's policy decision," said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank.

The European Central Bank is expected to stand pat on interest rates, as inflation hovers around its target and the eurozone economy holds up.

Data on Thursday showed the eurozone economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter of 2025.

The Bank of Japan held interest rates steady on Thursday, after the US Federal Reserve delivered a second quarter-point rate cut.

Fed chair Jerome Powell's announcement, however, cast doubt on an additional cut in December, jolting US markets and lifting the value of the dollar on Wednesday.

The Nasdaq later recovered, finishing at a fourth straight record after another gain by artificial intelligence giant Nvidia, which became the first company to reach a $5 trillion market value.

US big tech companies were in focus again Thursday, following a mixed reaction to earnings reports from Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft after the Wall Street close.

"These latest results highlight the business models of the big technology firms are becoming more capital intensive, as they build out their AI capabilities," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

He added, however, that if AI fails to deliver revenue streams "the effect on share prices could be brutal."

Seoul's stock market got a lift from tech giant Samsung Electronics posting a 32 percent rise in on-year third quarter profits, driven by AI-fuelled market demand for memory chips.

In London, shares in energy giant Shell were flat after its net profit jumped in the third quarter.

Advertising giant WPP led losses in London, dropping nearly 14 percent after it cut its annual outlook.

Volkswagen shares fell more than one percent after its first quarterly loss for five years, topping one billion euros.

Shares in auto giant Stellantis, whose brands include Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot, sank six percent despite rising sales as the group said it expects to incur charges in the second half of the year.

Danish weight-loss drugmaker Novo Nordisk, owner of treatments Wegovy and Ozempic, saw its shares fall three percent after it launched a bidding war with US rival Pfizer for obesity treatment maker Metsera.

- Key figures at around 1145 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 9,700.08 points

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.8 percent at 8,134.32

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.2 at 24,084.19

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 51,325.61 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 26,282.69 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,986.90 (close)

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 47,632.00 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1601 from $1.1595 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3176 from $1.3187

Dollar/yen: UP at 154.04 yen from 152.82 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 88.06 from 87.94 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $63.97 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $60.16 per barrel

Q.Nelson--SFF