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South African election results renew debate over identity-based voting
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Post-election pressures complicate US and Israeli decisions on Iran
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South African voters report smoother local election but declining IEC trust
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UN members approve talks on treaty protocol against environmental crime
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Dolly Parton museum and Nashville hotel open after singer’s death
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Family-run West Sussex beach café prepares for first winter season
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George and Amal Clooney attend New York political-comedy reading
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CT scans reveal health and burial clues from Egypt’s Braided Lady mummy
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British buyers pay substantial premiums for period-home appearance
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Oxford faces complaints over lecturer’s classroom attire
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Thomas Markle released to house arrest after child-abuse-image charge
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Kyren Wilson and John Higgins reach International Championship snooker final
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Dawn of War 4 developers chose Adeptus Mechanicus for tactical variety
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New Zealand and Tonga meet for place in Rugby League World Cup final
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Italy face unbeaten South Africa in Turin Nations Championship match
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Reports of unsafe AI-toy responses renew calls for child-safety rules
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ChatGPT interactive interface feature tested across six custom tools
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Juneau food network combines difficult supply routes with deep sharing traditions
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Freshways milk-price cut deepens pressure on UK dairy farms
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India climbs green-transition ranking after first emissions decline in 25 years
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Labour and National remain virtually tied as New Zealand vote count advances
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Trump names Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff after midterm losses
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The Good Daughter adapts Karin Slaughter thriller with Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy
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Restored Albanian tower houses anchor new rural tourism trail
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Heavy-lift drone evacuates wounded Ukrainian soldier from frontline kill zone
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Sonia Gandhi reflects on family tragedy and reluctant political career
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Morrison says West Brom recovered after pressure from successive derby losses
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Pope Leo begins three-country South American tour in Uruguay
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Britain considers 2027 state visit for Ukraine’s Zelensky
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Khawaja says entire Australia camp knew of 2018 ball-tampering plan
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Arizona Democrats Secure Historic Trifecta with New Legislative Leadership
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Anna Miltina Confronted with Racism Allegations on ProSieben Show
Stocks dip as Trump raises trade risk with China
Stocks largely slid on Friday after President Donald Trump put US-China trade tensions back on the boil by claiming Beijing had "totally violated" an agreement with Washington.
His social media post came hours after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said trade talks with China aimed at putting to bed sky-high mutual tariffs -- currently suspended -- were "a bit stalled".
The development risks renewed trade pugilism between the world's two biggest economies.
"If President Trump does slap tariffs back on Chinese imports to the US... we may see demand for US assets, and the dollar, severely impaired by a chaotic and undiplomatic approach to trade policy," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
New York shares dipped into the red, as did Asia's markets, though their close came before Trump posted his message. Paris also closed down while London and Frankfurt ended higher.
The movements were relatively limited, with investors appearing to be largely inured to Trump's now-familiar cycle of making dramatic trade threats then retreating.
Economic data informed a lot of the trades.
A key US inflation indicator released Friday showed April core price rises had slowed to 2.1 percent, milder than expected.
Analysts warned that the fuller inflationary effects in the United States of Trump's tariffs were yet to come and could cause the Fed to maintain its watch-and-wait stance.
"The true weight of these policies is likely to emerge more fully in the months ahead," said FOREX.com market analyst Fawad Razaqzada.
Investors were also assessing the impact of a US court ruling that invalidated most of Trump's sweeping tariffs -- though an appeals court suspended that order and the White House vowed the tariffs goal would be pursued one way or another.
"The ruling didn't mean that all tariffs were off the table, it could affect trade negotiations going forward," noted David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, adding that it only injected "ongoing uncertainty surrounding trade policy".
Stephen Innes, of SPI Asset Management, said the result was "a legal limbo... the kind that keeps traders awake at night".
In the eurozone, interest rates were in focus after official data showed inflation hovering around the European Central Bank's two-percent target.
Consumer prices in top EU economy Germany showed a 2.1 percent rise in May -- the same as the previous month -- while they fell in Spain, to 1.9 percent, and in Italy, to 1.7 percent.
The ECB looks set to lower interest rates again on Thursday.
The dollar gained against major currencies, while oil prices were down ahead of a Saturday meeting of eight key OPEC+ members to decide production quotas for July, with some analysts saying the cartel could make a larger-than-expected supply hike.
- Key figures at around 1545 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 42,145.57 points
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 5,890.11
New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 19,055.88
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 8,766.98 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,751.89 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 23,997.48 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.2 percent at 37,965.10 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.2 percent at 23,289.77 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 3,347.49 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1356 from $1.1368 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3479 from $1.3494
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.10 yen from 144.19 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 84.26 pence from 84.22 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.5 percent at $62.41 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.15 percent at $60.23 per barrel
D.Schaer--VB