- Carpe diem: the Costa Rican women turning fish into fashion
- Senegal looks to aquaculture as fish stocks dwindle
- Will AI one day win a Nobel Prize?
- Climate change, economics muddy West's drive to curb Chinese EVs
- Argentina's Milei vetoes university budget after huge protests
- TotalEnergies plans to grow oil and gas production until 2030
- 2024 Nobels offer glimmer of hope as global crises mount
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong reverses after surge
- Tunisia readies for vote as incumbent Saied eyes victory
- High childcare costs in US weigh on women's employment
- US voters seek help with crushing childcare costs
- Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land
- Supercharged storms: how climate change amplifies cyclones
- Biden official urges talks as US port strike enters second day
- Huge protests in Argentina over public university cuts
- 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
RBGPF | 100% | 59.99 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.04% | 24.78 | $ | |
NGG | -1.85% | 68.78 | $ | |
GSK | -2.15% | 39.45 | $ | |
BTI | -1.33% | 35.97 | $ | |
RIO | -0.48% | 70.82 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0.14% | 6.91 | $ | |
RELX | -0.11% | 47.29 | $ | |
BP | 0.86% | 32.37 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.04% | 24.93 | $ | |
SCS | -2.56% | 12.87 | $ | |
VOD | -2.16% | 9.74 | $ | |
JRI | -1.12% | 13.38 | $ | |
BCC | -1.33% | 139.53 | $ | |
AZN | 1.14% | 79.58 | $ | |
BCE | -1.13% | 34.44 | $ |
Markets fluctuate, oil falls again as recession warnings build
Asian markets struggled Thursday to recover from the previous day's battering, while oil extended losses, after Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell admitted the economy could tip into recession as the bank hikes interest rates to fight runaway inflation.
Soaring prices and central banks' battle to rein them in have sent a chill through global trading floors this year, while investors are also having to deal with the uncertainty wrought by the Ukraine war and patchy pandemic recovery.
Commentators have warned for some time that the world economy could be heading for another contraction owing to the sharp increase in borrowing costs and rampant inflation, which is at decades highs in several countries.
And on Wednesday the head of the most powerful central bank in the world told lawmakers that it was "certainly a possibility".
While saying the economy was strong enough for rates to rise, he added that "frankly, the events of the last few months around the world have made it more difficult for us to achieve what we want, which is two percent inflation and still a strong labour market."
He also warned: "Inflation has obviously surprised to the upside over the past year, and further surprises could be in store".
The Fed this month hiked rates by 75 basis points and is expected to do the same in July, with some observers predicting two more such moves after that.
After a day of swings, Wall Street ended in negative territory, though off big early lows.
Asia fluctuated after a big sell-off Wednesday, with optimism at a premium among investors and analysts saying it is unlikely to improve anytime soon.
Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore and Wellington were slightly higher but Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta fell.
"Having listened to Powell's lengthy Senate testimony... it is clear that inflation is the domestic issue at the top of the political agenda," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.
"Powell consistently bobbed and weaved his way through commenting on anything of fiscal nature but was focused on deploying the tools within the Fed's power to address their dual mandate" of reining in inflation and keeping unemployment in check.
"So we should still position for more rate hike fallout to occur."
Powell's comments came as other top economists added to the recession talk, with former New York Fed President Bill Dudley saying it was "inevitable within the next 12 to 18 months".
And Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing said there was a 50 percent chance of a contraction next year.
Elon Musk, JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon and Nouriel Roubini are among several others to have made similar forecasts.
"We are still in an era where uncertainty is elevated and is expected to remain so for quite a while," said JoAnne Feeney, of Advisors Capital Management, on Bloomberg Television.
"It's risky right now in terms of the forward outlook for the global economy. Recession risk has clearly risen."
The prospect of a retreat in the global economy continued to drag oil prices down as traders fret over demand, with both main contracts down more than three percent, having tumbled on Wednesday.
Brent and WTI have dropped around 15 percent over the past week, even with sanctions on Russian crude exports and China's gradual reopening from lockdowns.
Adding to the selling was data Wednesday indicating a jump in US stockpiles.
"A slowdown in global growth is a risk to oil demand, which could help ease some of the tightness in the market," Warren Patterson, at ING Groep, said.
"Already, we have seen demand estimates revised lower."
- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 26,146.71 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 21,039.28
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,263.02
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.5 percent at $102.51 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 3.2 percent at $108.14 per barrel
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 135.74 yen from 136.22 yen late Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2241 from $1.2263
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0561 from $1.0570
Euro/pound: UP at 86.27 pence from 86.17 pence
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 30,483.13 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.9 percent at 7,089.22 (close)
D.Philippon--CPN