- US dockworkers launch mass strike month before election
- Evacuations from Lebanon: what we know
- Feathers fly at Chanel's Paris fashion return
- UAE oil giant ADNOC swoops on German chemicals firm Covestro
- Eurozone inflation falls under 2% for first time since 2021
- 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
Stock markets, oil slip on weak Chinese data, looming US rate hike
Stock markets slipped and oil prices also fell Monday as traders tracked weak Chinese economic data and a looming US interest rate hike that could tame inflation but also thwart growth.
Equities kicked off the month of May on the wrong foot after Wall Street finished a tough April by closing sharply down on Friday following disappointing results from tech giant Amazon.
"The markets remain skittish regarding an expected aggressive Fed monetary policy tightening cycle as the Central Bank is set to hike rates this week," said analysts at Charles Schwab investment firm.
"Moreover, global sentiment continues to be hampered by the ongoing war in Ukraine, the recent spike in interest rates, the rallying US dollar, and slowing economic activity in China," they said.
Wall Street see-sawed in early deals. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, having lost more than 13 percent in April for its worst monthly showing in 14 years, was just in the green -- but the Dow Jones index was off around 0.4 percent some two hours into trading.
Eurozone markets ended the session down, Paris losing 1.6 percent and Frankfurt tumbling 1.2 percent.
London was closed for a bank holiday.
Tokyo, Seoul, Mumbai, Manila, Sydney and Wellington all finished lower. Hong Kong and mainland Chinese markets were closed along with several other Asian markets.
Data at the weekend showed Chinese manufacturing activity shrank last month at its fastest pace since the start of the pandemic as the government applies Covid-19 lockdowns in the biggest cities of the world's second biggest economy.
While economic hub Shanghai remains locked down, Beijing has tightened virus controls in the capital, requiring clear Covid tests to visit public spaces.
This followed gloomy economic data in Europe on Friday showing that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was weighing on growth.
The struggles in China, the world's biggest crude importer, led to a drop in prices of the commodity on demand concerns, offsetting worries about tighter supply as the EU eyes a ban on Russian oil over its invasion of Ukraine.
Oil prices meanwhile slipped back, though limiting initial losses of more than three percent, with Brent North Sea crude, the benchmark international contract, falling to $103.71 before bouncing back above $106.
The European Commission is preparing a sanctions text that could be put to the 27 member states as early as Wednesday, sources said.
The ban would be introduced over six to eight months to give countries time to diversify their supply, they added.
- Rate hike looms large -
Investors are also looking ahead at the US Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, which starts Tuesday. It is expected to see the central bank hike borrowing costs by half a point -- the most since 2000 -- to tame soaring consumer prices.
Some analysts are predicting the Fed could even announce a three-quarter-point increase at some point as it battles more than 40-year-high inflation.
With some commentators warning rates could go as high as three percent, there are also worries the Fed could be too heavy handed and tip the US economy into recession.
"The Fed must make up for lost time and act quick and strongly as it faces inflation which keeps surprising as it rises," said Franck Dixmier, head of fixed income at Allianz Global Investors.
"The challenge in executing the normalisation of its monetary policy is to ensure a soft landing of the US economy... while maintaining a dynamic labour market and above all avoiding triggering a recession," he said.
- Key figures at around 1600 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 32,845.22 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.2 percent at 13,939.07 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.6 percent at 6,425.61 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 2.2 percent at 3,722.97
London - FTSE 100: Closed for a holiday
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 26,818.53 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: Closed for a holiday
Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0512 from $1.0550 on Friday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2514 from $1.2578
Euro/pound: UP at 84.00 pence from 83.86 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 130.03 yen from 129.89 yen
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $104.31 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $106.70 per barrel
O.Hansen--CPN