LONDON, July 17, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Wall Street chased new record highs Thursday, while main European and Asian stock markets also rose as investors mulled the US rates outlook and the future of Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell.

The dollar lost momentum after earlier rising against main rivals while the US tariffs battle and the earnings season -- with Netflix set to kick off tech sector results -- influenced market direction.

Market observers have been carefully watching developments following reports that US President Donald Trump, fresh from unveiling new tariff threats, was considering whether to sack Powell.

Some 20 minutes into the session on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5 percent, while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.3 percent.

The rises came on the back of better-than-expected US retail sales report and a round of mostly solid corporate earnings.

Overall retail sales were up 0.6 percent in June to $720.1 billion, reversing a May 0.9 percent decline. The figures topped analyst expectations.

Besides retail sales, another week of modest weekly US jobless claims provided reassurance on the economy, said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.

"We've been worried about earnings and trade wars, but the economic data (...) remains resilient," Hogan said.

"If earnings are more upbeat than expected and if management continues to tell a reassuring story about consumer spending, stocks could react favorably," said Bret Kenwell, eToro US investment analyst, who called the retail sales data "reassuring."

All three main indices in New York had ended in the green Wednesday, with the Nasdaq at another record high, following a brief sell-off after it emerged Trump had raised the idea of firing Powell.

Markets recovered after Trump denied he was planning such a move, with PepsiCo adding six percent in early trading and United Airlines making a similar jump.

The news had earlier caused a spike in US Treasury yields amid fears over the central bank's independence. Trump has spent months lambasting Powell for not cutting interest rates.

The Fed's "Beige Book" survey of economic conditions has meanwhile indicated increasing impacts from the tariffs, with many businesses warning they had passed along "at least a portion of cost increases" to consumers.

In Asia, Toko and Shanghai added around half of one percent though Hong Kong edged down. 

Tokyo-listed shares in the Japanese owner of convenience store giant 7-Eleven plunged after its Canadian rival pulled out of an almost $50 billion takeover bid.

- Key figures at around 1350 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 44,466.93 points
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 6,279.52
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 20,792.97
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,969.29 points
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 7,792.21 
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.8 percent at 24,196.72
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.6 percent at 39,901.19 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 24,498.95 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,516.83 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1704 from $1.1641 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3469 from $1.3414
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.06 yen from 147.80 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 86.90 pence from 86.72 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.0 percent at $68.05 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.1 percent at $65.78 per barrel
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