- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
Major stock markets mostly retreat as recession fears reignite
Major stock markets mostly slid and the dollar faltered Wednesday, fuelled by concerns for the banking sector and broader fears of global recession this year.
Tokyo and European indices headed south following Wall Street losses Tuesday.
This followed lacklustre US consumer data and as traders tracked earnings reports.
"Realisation is dawning that more ominous clouds are gathering over the US economy, causing fresh nervousness for investors," noted Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Those concerns were top of mind for traders after US-based First Republic Bank disclosed it lost more than $100 billion in deposits in the first quarter, intensifying concerns about its long-term prospects after the failures of other mid-sized banks.
Shares of First Republic plunged 49 percent, pressuring other regional banks that have been seen as vulnerable.
Meanwhile, the US Conference Board reported a bigger than expected drop in consumer confidence in April.
Also weighing on sentiment was the question of interest rates, with Sweden's Riksbank on Wednesday hiking its guiding rate by a half-point to 3.5 percent as it tried to rein in double-digit inflation.
The US Federal Reserve is also mulling further inflation-fighting hikes.
Oanda senior market analyst Edward Moya said the overall outlook suggested "the Fed can stay on their tightening course with the risks of a June hike still remaining on the table".
On the corporate front, Google parent company Alphabet beat market expectations in the first quarter of 2023 with a net profit of $15 billion, the company said after the close of Wall Street on Tuesday.
Microsoft's results for the first three months of the year also pleased investors, lifted by its industry-leading business cloud products.
- Key figures around 1100 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,869.70
Frankfurt - DAX 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 15,784.98
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.9 percent at 7,464.85
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.9 percent at 4,340.10
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.7 percent at 19,757.27 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: FLAT at 3,264.10 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 28,416.47 (close)
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.0 percent at 33,530.83 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1058 from $1.0975 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2486 from $1.2409
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 133.44 yen from 133.73 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 88.59 pence from 88.40 pence
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $80.64 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $77.20 per barrel
Y.Uduike--CPN