- Spain welcomed record number of tourists this summer
- France says coming tax hikes on the wealthy to be 'temporary'
- Why are Thailand's roads so deadly?
- Oracle to invest $6.5 bn in Malaysian cloud services region
- Parkrun marks 20 years of a free weekly jog, run... or walk
- Oil extends rally after Iran attack, Hong Kong soars again
- Prostitutes, prospectors drive spread in DR Congo mpox capital
- Oil extends rally after Iran attack, Hong Kong resumes surge
- Extreme heat another form of death sentence in Texas jails
- Can music help plants grow? Study suggests sound boosts fungus
- Nike earnings drop, says turnaround will take time
- US dockworkers launch mass strike a month before election
- Iron Dome: Israel's key anti-missile shield
- Cranes stand still as US dockworkers fight for 'future'
- GM reports US sales dip, but says EVs grew
- Sheinbaum takes office as Mexico's first woman president
- Webb telescope detects carbon dioxide on Pluto's largest moon
- Stock markets slump, oil jumps on Middle East concerns
- French PM vows more taxes and spending cuts ahead of budget fight
- Germany inaugurates IBM's first European quantum data centre
- Stock markets diverge as eurozone inflation drops further
- France's richest man takes control of Paris Match magazine
- Anger meets tear gas as Nigeria hardship protests fizzle out
- 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
European and US stock markets struggle to recover
European and US stock markets struggled to mount a rebound Wednesday as investors weighed the fallout from surging inflation, higher interest rates, China's economic slowdown and the Ukraine war.
The day before, global equities had retreated as volatility grips financial markets.
A series of weak indicators around the world and downbeat forecasts from big firms have chilled trading floors in recent weeks as the surge in prices begins to drag on consumer confidence, with warnings now swirling of a possible global recession.
The tech sector was again in the firing line after Snap, the parent of social media app Snapchat, provided a gloomy economic outlook, sending its shares diving more than 40 percent on Wall Street Tuesday.
Wall Street titans followed Snap down, with Facebook-parent Meta and Google-parent Alphabet tanking.
"The feel-good factor from earlier in the week has fizzed away, but there is still some element of relief washing through the financial markets that the crutch of cheap money isn't going to be withdrawn quite so quickly," said Susannah Streeter, investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
She said expectations that the Federal Reserve would avoid hiking US interest rates by as much as 0.75 percent in one go to bring down inflation "helped lift the Dow Jones (Tuesday)... and has steadied overall market sentiment".
Investors are awaiting the Fed's next move on interest rates, with expectations for more half-point hikes to come as officials struggle to bring inflation down from four-decade highs.
With minutes from the Fed's most recent policy meeting due out later Wednesday, Wall Street's main stock indices opened lower, with the Dow shedding 0.4 percent.
The broader S&P 500 as well as the tech-heavy Nasdaq were down by a similar amount.
With numerous Fed officials having spoken since the meeting, "the minutes released today may not move today's trading dial much, unless they convey some more aggressive-minded thinking on the pace of balance sheet reduction," said Patrick J. O'Hare at Briefing.com.
European stocks made modest gains in afternoon trading.
Traders are also closely watching China, which continues to struggle with the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant.
The world's second-biggest economy is sticking to its zero-Covid strategy despite the dire impact of lockdowns on growth.
And with no easing of that policy in sight, observers warned that a series of recent support measures would not be enough to lift optimism.
"Fiscal multipliers will be minimal in an economy where economic interaction and activity have slowed sharply," said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
"Moving beyond mobility restrictions in short order is a pre-condition, but not a guarantee, for an Asia-led economic recovery."
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has meanwhile put financial markets under renewed stress by driving up prices and impeding growth, the European Central Bank said in a report published Wednesday.
Inflation in the eurozone, as elsewhere, has accelerated as costs for energy, agricultural goods and raw materials have risen sharply.
- Key figures at around 1330 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 7,517.96 points
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 13,947.77
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 6,271.73
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,598.53
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 31,797.63
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 26,677.80 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 20,171.27 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.2 percent at 3,107.46 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0666 from $1.0739 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2517 from $1.2535
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.20 pence from 85.64 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 127.11 yen from 126.86 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.8 percent at $111.55 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $110.72 per barrel
burs-rl/spm
St.Ch.Baker--CPN