The Albany Gazette - Stocks mixed after rallying over interest rate outlook

On Wall Street, the Dow fell as it was pulled lower by Nike, which reported weak sales in China.

The wider S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were little changed in late morning trading, after hitting records on Thursday. All three are headed for healthy gains for the week.

Frankfurt rose after a survey showed improved business confidence, while Paris closed lower.

Markets were "catching their breath after an eventful week," said Charles Schwab analyst Joe Mazzola.

"The market heads into the final week of the first quarter buoyed by optimism over the economy and renewed confidence the Federal Reserve will embark on a rate-cutting cycle later this year," he said.

London, which has lagged behind most major markets so far this year, was the strongest major market Friday, with the FTSE 100 index closing up 0.6 percent.

It had gained almost two percent Thursday as the Bank of England signalled it could start cutting interest rates over the UK summer.

"The FTSE 100 is benefitting more than the other indices because it was cheap," said Kathleen Brooks, an analyst at XTB.com.

"This shift in rate cut expectations from the BOE is like a red flag to a bull, and markets have rallied sharply," she said.

- 'Some second-guessing' -

The Swiss National Bank on Thursday became the first major central bank to cut rates aimed at combating soaring inflation, and was followed later in the day by the bank of Mexico.

Equities across the world had surged Thursday in response to the Federal Reserve's closely watched projections that it would lower borrowing costs three times this year, even after figures showed prices ticking up in January and February.

"However, with US yields holding firm and the dollar rallying on the Fed's upward adjustments to growth and inflation forecasts, there may eventually be some second-guessing of the Fed's rate cut outlook," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

Apple clawed back some ground Friday after being walloped Thursday when US regulators said they were opening antitrust proceedings against the company for how it limits competition in the iPhone ecosystem.

Nike slumped more than seven percent after sales in China slipped, even as it made waves by signing a sponsorship deal with the German national football team, who had been outfitted by Adidas since the 1950s.

Adidas shares were up half a percent, largely in line with the wider Frankfurt market, which was lifted by a key survey showing that German business morale rose more strongly than expected in March.

The Ifo institute's closely watched confidence barometer, based on a survey of around 9,000 companies, rose to 87.8 points, from 85.7 in February.

Oil prices fell as the United States pressured Ukraine to stop firing missiles at Russian refineries, which had caused oil prices to rise earlier in the week.

- Key figures around 1640 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 39,775.11

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 5,234.06

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 16,409.52

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,930.92 points (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,151.92 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 18,205.94 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.4 percent at 5,031.15 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 40,888.43 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.2 percent at 16,499.47 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.0 percent at 3,048.03 (close)

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2595 from $1.2653 on Thursday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 151.41 yen from 151.65 yen

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0810 from $1.0861

Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.83 pence from 85.94 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $85.62 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $80.89 per barrel

(M.Scott--TAG)