Stock markets struggled Friday following a mixed week dominated by the Gaza ceasefire, US government shutdown and fears that the artificial intelligence sector is overvalued.

After some equity indices hit record highs, along with gold and bitcoin, "the bull run is on pause", noted Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.

European and Asian stock markets were largely downbeat Friday after losses Thursday on Wall Street.

The dollar traded mixed against main rivals and oil prices slid more than one percent.

Nathan added that "the great reality check, otherwise known as third-quarter earnings season, is upon us".

Buying sentiment won a boost this week from news that ChatGPT-maker OpenAI had signed multi-billion-dollar chip deals with South Korean titans Samsung and S

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