- Coldplay ticket scalping fiasco sparks backlash in India
- Droughts drive Spanish boom in pistachio farming
- Tokyo recovers some losses to lead Asian markets higher
- Rural schools empty in North Macedonia due to exodus
- US dockworkers launch strike after labor contract expires
- Thousands evacuated as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan
- Kenya airport whistleblower fears for his life
- Sheinbaum to take office as Mexico's first woman president
- Scientists fear underfunded Argentina research on verge of collapse
- US port officials gird for strike despite last-minute bargaining
- With 118 dead from Hurricane Helene, Biden defends US government response
- Breeder who tried to create enormous trophy sheep jailed in US
- Qatar Airways seeking 25% stake in Virgin Australia
- US port officials gird for strike as labor talks stay stuck
- As toll crosses 100, Trump puts Hurricane Helene at election center stage
- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
- New blow for UK's Starmer as growth data disappoints
- China's top banks to tweak mortgage rates to boost housing market
- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
Asian markets sink as European stocks steady, eyes on Ukraine
Asian markets were back in negative territory Wednesday following a rout on Wall Street as traders are faced with a perfect storm of crises including China's Covid-linked economic woes, US interest rate hikes, soaring inflation and the Ukraine war.
The downbeat mood across the world has been compounded by weak earnings from some of the world's biggest companies, while pledges of support from Beijing have largely fallen on deaf ears.
Tech firms, who rely on debt to drive growth, led a plunge in New York on fears that the Federal Reserve is at the beginning of a period of sharp rate increases aimed at taming scorching inflation.
The numerous issues around the world are acting as a massive drag on sentiment, with many worrying about the global economic outlook.
While about 80 percent of S&P 500 firms reporting so far have beat expectations, National Australia Bank's Ray Attrill said misses by high-profile names were taking the spotlight.
This came "amid deepening concerns that corporate earnings, however strong now, cannot usurp the stiffening (global) economic headwinds stemming primarily from the ongoing war in Ukraine and China’s Covid-zero policy".
China's Omicron crisis has seen officials lockdown Shanghai, the country's biggest city, while there are fears Beijing will soon follow as infections continue to rise there.
That has raised concerns about already strained supply chains and that a crucial driver of world growth is enduring a serious economic slowdown.
Asian markets tracked Wall Street down.
Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok, Mumbai and Jakarta were all well down.
But Shanghai bounced following a report that Xi Jinping had committed to boosting infrastructure construction as a means of accelerating the economy. Hong Kong edged up slgihtly.
"Infrastructure is an important support for economic and social development," Xi said at a high-level meeting on Tuesday, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
The comments were the latest from China's top brass, who have made a series of promises in recent weeks to kickstart growth, but analysts said the key cause of worry for investors was the leaders' refusal to back away from their Covid strategy.
"The market is no longer responsive because there's no easing up of the negative in view right now," said Yang Ziyi, at Shenzhen Sinowise Investment.
"We just need to wait. We saw the same kind of numbness towards vocal support during the burst of the 2015 bubble and in 2018."
Analysts said there was a lot of uncertainty on trading floors.
"We know that sentiment is in a terrible state right now," said Lori Calvasina, of RBC Capital Markets, on Bloomberg TV.
"This is a market that’s very, very confused. There's just a real lack of conviction in anything people want to buy at this moment in time."
Oil -- which has been under pressure in recent days owing to worries about Chinese demand -- extended Tuesday's bounce as Russian energy giant Gazprom cut off gas to Bulgaria and Poland as they had not made payments in rubles, as demanded by Moscow. Analysts expect further gains in the commodity.
Crude "is supported via the escalation of geopolitical tensions with Russia starting to cut off EU gas supplies. And this is just the beginning, so oil could remain supported as the EU pulls the plug on gas supplies in a domino effect across the continent", said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.
"And, of course, the offset is China lockdowns and everything that entails with the oil market desperately trying to skirt those recession storm clouds building on the horizon."
Russia's move to cut off energy to Europe has fanned concerns about the continent's economic outlook, pushing the euro to a five-year low against the dollar.
Still, markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt edged up at the open.
- Key figures at 0720 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.2 percent at 26,386.63 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN UP 0.1 percent at 19,959.86
Shanghai - Composite: UP 2.5 percent at 2,958.28 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,393.02
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.6 percent at $105.58 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $102.04 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0625 from $1.0636 late on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2569 from $1.2576
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.52 pence from 84.55 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 127.98 yen from 127.21 yen
New York - Dow: DOWN 2.4 percent at 33,240.18 (close)
O.Hansen--CPN