Global stock markets mostly rose Thursday before data that is widely expected to show another softening of US consumer inflation, giving the Federal Reserve room to slow its interest rate hikes.

British shoppers spent freely at Christmas, piling their trolleys with party food, drink and clothing as they enjoyed the first holiday season free of COVID worries for three years, but retailers warned most will tighten their belts in 2023.

British retailer Marks & Spencer reported strong Christmas sales, with demand for turkeys and sparkling wine delivering its highest ever share of the food market and sequin-decorated partywear boosting its clothing sales.

Sainsbury's, the first listed British supermarket to update on Christmas trading, forecast full-year profit at the upper end of its guidance after shoppers spent more than expected on festive treats despite a deepening cost-of-living crisis.

Updates next week from Britain's biggest retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer are expected to confirm that while Christmas was not the disaster that some had feared, consumer demand is set to weaken in 2023, denting profit.

A short-lived bounce for global stocks faded on Thursday, as easing U.S. inflation expectations were overshadowed by fears about an economic downturn.

European shares rose for a second straight session on Thursday, boosted by financial and energy stocks, as investors cheered improving consumer sentiment in the United States after inflation expectations eased.

The downturn across most British businesses eased slightly this month but manufacturers struggled and the economy is still likely to contract this quarter, marking a recession, a survey showed on Friday.

Forget a year-end rally in financial markets. The message from major central banks is loud and clear: the battle to tame inflation is far from over.

Global airlines are predicting their first industry-wide profit since 2019 next year as air travel rebounds from COVID-19 restrictions, while a new war of words erupted with airports on Tuesday over rising air fares and ground charges.

As Chinese assets whipsaw around hopes and fears over the country's path out of the pandemic, big offshore investors are slowly leaving the sidelines as they plot a cautious return to one of the year's worst-performing equity markets.

Deal-hungry Americans snapped up everything from toys to electronics during the five-day long Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday shopping bonanza lured by steep discounts, sales data showed.

Britain will provide 13.6 billion pounds ($16.1 billion) of support to retail, hospitality and leisure companies facing higher business rate bills next year, to help them through the recession and a fall in consumer spending.

Britain's economy shrank in the third quarter as inflation soars, official data showed Friday, likely confirming it is already in a recession, dealing a fresh blow to new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Investors are stampeding away from the dollar, as softer-than-expected U.S.

Japan's factory output fell in September for the first time in four months as manufacturers took a hit from rising costs for raw materials and the global economic slowdown.

Amazon.com Inc on Thursday forecast a slowdown in sales growth for the holiday season, disappointing Wall Street and warning that inflation-wary consumers and businesses had less money to spend.

Barclays beat forecasts with a small rise in third-quarter profit on Wednesday lifted by a record performance in fixed income trading, but costs and loan charges crept higher in a sign of ongoing challenges.

The euro on Wednesday surged back above parity with the dollar, with the US currency sliding against its main rivals on concerns over the world's biggest economy.

British shoppers cut their spending sharply last month and their confidence is close to record lows, underscoring the challenge facing the next prime minister who must also take painful measures to slow fast-rising public borrowing.

UK government borrowing surged and retail sales slumped in September, official data showed Friday.

British consumer spending grew last month at a rate that lagged behind inflation by a long way, according to surveys on Tuesday that underlined the risk of recession as the cost-of-living crisis rumbles on.

Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, forecast full-year profit at the lower end of its previous guidance, blaming uncertainty over how consumer spending will evolve amid a worsening cost-of-living squeeze.

Britain's private-sector economy last month suffered the sharpest contraction in activity since a COVID lockdown early last year, underlining the challenge facing Prime Minister Liz Truss who on Wednesday emphasised her push for economic growth.

Sweden's central bank must act robustly to get inflation under control or rising prices could become entrenched, rate-setters said in the minutes of the bank's most recent policy meeting, published on Thursday.

Euro zone government bond yields rose on Thursday as German data shifted the market focus to surging inflation, while gilt investors resumed selling after the Bank of England (BoE) stepped in to quell a storm the day before.

A surge in borrowing costs and a likely slowdown in economic growth threaten to trigger a selloff in Britain's housing market with consequences for personal wealth and the broader economy that could resonate for decades.

Wall Street giant JPMorgan is planning to double the size of its workforce at fledgling British retail bank Chase to at least 2,000 within two years, the CEO of the venture told Reuters, despite losses and some investor scepticism.

Expectations of more Federal Reserve tightening and economic worries are weighing on a rebound in consumer discretionary stocks, though some investors believe the sector will outperform other areas of the market if growth begins to wobble in coming months.

The German central bank said Monday it was increasingly likely that Europe's largest economy would shrink for a "prolonged" period as Russia throttled energy supplies to the continent.