- Rally in oil prices loses steam on mixed day for global stocks
- South America treated to rare 'ring of fire' eclipse
- Biden official says port strike deal not as far as parties think
- Mexico's new president offers apology for 1968 student massacre
- Historic funding round values OpenAI at $157 billion
- Mixed US car sales in Q3 as industry hopes for post-election bounce
- Thunderstorms are a 'boiling pot' of gamma rays, scientists find
- Scientists unlock secret of 'Girl With Pearl Earring'
- Dolphins flash friendly grins when they're ready to play
- Facing backlash, EU moves to delay deforestation rules
- US private sector adds more jobs than expected in September: ADP
- Boys out of critical condition after Zurich stabbings
- Spain logs record summer tourism as inflow draws protests
- Hedi Slimane quits as Celine's artistic director
- Oil prices extend rally on Iran attack
- 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
RBGPF | -2.18% | 59.5 | $ | |
RELX | -0.11% | 47.29 | $ | |
NGG | -1.85% | 68.78 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.04% | 24.78 | $ | |
BCC | -1.33% | 139.53 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.43% | 6.9 | $ | |
GSK | -2.15% | 39.45 | $ | |
SCS | -2.56% | 12.87 | $ | |
RIO | -0.48% | 70.82 | $ | |
AZN | 1.14% | 79.58 | $ | |
BTI | -1.33% | 35.97 | $ | |
JRI | -1.12% | 13.38 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.04% | 24.93 | $ | |
BCE | -1.13% | 34.44 | $ | |
VOD | -2.16% | 9.74 | $ | |
BP | 0.86% | 32.37 | $ |
Stocks tank as central banks hike rates
Stock markets tumbled Thursday as central banks hiked interest rates in efforts to tame runaway inflation which has raised fears of recession.
One day after the Federal Reserve's biggest US interest-rate hike in nearly 30 years, the Bank of England raised its main rate to its highest level since the 2009 financial crisis.
The BoE hiked its rate by a quarter-point to 1.25 percent, its fifth straight increase, and warned that British inflation would soar further this year to exceed 11 percent.
The pound sank against the dollar following the announcement, but later recovered.
Adding to the sense of urgency, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) surprised the markets as it unexpectedly hiked rates for the first time since 2007.
"European bourses are tanking on recession fears as central banks act aggressively to tame inflation," City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta told AFP.
"While the move by the Fed was priced in, the SNB's hike was a shock that caught investors off guard. Harder and faster rate hikes from central banks mean that a recession will be hard to avoid."
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said the SNB's move "reportedly got the market all worked up, but let's be clear, this particular move isn't the problem. The problem is that it is another example of a hawkish-minded monetary policy shift to fight inflation that isn't the exclusive domain of the Federal Reserve."
Frankfurt's DAX index and London's FTSE 100 were both down more than three percent in afternoon trades, while the Paris CAC 40 shed 2.6 percent.
Wall Street opened sharply lower, with the Dow, the broad-based S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq all falling by more than two percent, a day after closing higher following the Fed's rate hike.
Asian markets mostly closed lower.
Markets have been pummelled this year as soaring consumer prices -- particularly on fallout from the Ukraine conflict -- have forced central banks to tamp up borrowing costs.
That has intensified fear that the world economy, which is still in recovery from the deadly Covid pandemic, could lurch back into a lengthy downturn.
Traders initially tracked Wednesday's strong performance on Wall Street as the US central bank move signalled it is intent on fighting runaway prices, but Fed boss Jerome Powell said such big moves would not be commonplace.
The size of the US rate hike had been expected after data showed inflation in the world's biggest economy at its highest since 1981.
Oil prices extended losses Thursday on demand worries caused by new Covid containment measures in China and news of surging US production.
- Key figures at around 1345 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 2.4 percent at 29,925.81 points
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 3.2 percent at 7,044.60
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 3.2 percent at 13,058.47
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 2.6 percent at 5,873.71
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 2.9 percent at 3,431.70
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 26,431.20 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.2 percent at 20,845.53 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,285.38 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0461 from $1.0444 late Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2259 from $1.2180
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.32 pence from 85.75 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 132.70 yen from 133.84 yen
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.7 percent at $116.48 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.9 percent at $113.12
burs-lth/pvh
L.Peeters--CPN