- Stock markets diverge as Hong Kong sinks, oil prices fall
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
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- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
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- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
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- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
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- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
RIO | -4.68% | 66.505 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.36% | 24.66 | $ | |
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CMSD | 0.1% | 24.815 | $ | |
JRI | 0.15% | 13.2 | $ | |
BCC | 0.65% | 142.2 | $ | |
BTI | -0.04% | 35.185 | $ | |
RBGPF | -0.46% | 60.52 | $ | |
AZN | -0.35% | 76.605 | $ | |
GSK | -1.1% | 38.21 | $ | |
BCE | -0.44% | 33.384 | $ | |
NGG | 0.27% | 65.66 | $ | |
RELX | 0.8% | 46.41 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.15% | 6.87 | $ | |
VOD | -0.26% | 9.665 | $ | |
BP | -3.61% | 31.985 | $ |
Stocks fall as recession fears overshadow China reopening hope
Major stock markets suffered more selling Wednesday on growing fears that Federal Reserve monetary tightening will tip the US economy into recession.
The drop followed more steep losses on Wall Street Tuesday after the heads of leading US banks warned of tough times ahead in 2023.
JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon tipped a "mild to hard recession" and Goldman Sachs' David Solomon said jobs and pay would be hit, while Morgan Stanley and Bank of America were also uneasy about the outlook.
The comments added to the downbeat mood that has coursed through trading floors at the start of the week, after forecast-beating reports on jobs and the giant US services sector fanned worries the Fed would have to push interest rates higher than hoped.
Markets had been rising healthily after a weaker-than-expected inflation reading for October suggested the almost year-long tightening campaign was finally affecting prices.
"Any hopes that the Fed would turn more dovish in the months ahead have been dashed significantly as the vast US services industry is where sticky inflation hangs out," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.
He added that the latest readings suggest rates would go above five percent before the Fed stops hiking, while several observers have suggested they will not be reduced until 2024.
- China easing on Covid -
The sombre outlook overshadowed China's moves to wind back some of its harsh Covid rules that traders hope will kickstart the world's number two economy, which has been battered this year by months of lockdowns and other containment measures.
In a sign of the impact the zero-Covid strategy has had, data Wednesday showed that imports and exports plunged far more than expected in November.
On Wednesday, officials announced for the first time a nationwide loosening of restrictions, including a reduction in mandatory PCR tests and allowing some positive cases to quarantine at home.
But while the country edges back to normality, Zhiwei Zhang, of Pinpoint Asset Management, warned that it would take time.
"The zero-Covid policy has been loosened, but mobility has not recovered much on the national level," he said. "I expect exports will stay weak in the next few months as China goes through a bumpy reopening process.
"As global demand weakens in 2023, China will have to rely more on domestic demand."
Other observers said the recent rally fuelled by the reopening may have gone too far and traders were now taking a step back as they contemplate a likely spike in infections in the country.
Oil prices remained stuck at lows not seen for around a year as demand expectations tumble.
Brent on Tuesday sank below $80 for the first time since January, while WTI struck its lowest since December, having plunged from the 14-year highs of around $140 touched in March after Russia invaded Ukraine.
"The crude demand outlook is getting crushed as we are in a slowdown basically across all the major economies," said OANDA's Edward Moya.
"Supplies seem plentiful over the near term and that has everyone hesitating on what was one of the easiest trades of the year."
- Key figures around 1145 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,516.42 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 14,293.02
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 6,661.54
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,946.83
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 27,686.40 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 3.2 percent at 18,814.82 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,199.62 (close)
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.0 percent at 33,596.34 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0498 from $1.0470 on Tuesday
Dollar/yen: UP at 137.64 yen from 137.04 yen
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2156 from $1.2133
Euro/pound: UP at 86.34 pence from 86.26 pence
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.2 percent at $79.48 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $74.35 per barrel
J.Bondarev--CPN