- Oil rallies, stocks mostly retreat on Middle East tensions
- Phasing out teen smoking could save 1.2 mn lives: study
- 'Welcome relief': Asia producers hail EU deforestation law delay
- Japan PM slated to announce plans for 'happiness index'
- Turkish inflation falls less than expected in September at 49.4%
- Easing inflation lifts profit at UK supermarket Tesco
- Skiing calls on UN climate science to combat melting future
- China wine industry looks to breed climate resilience
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong drops after surge
- Dutch airline KLM unveils 'firm' cost-cutting measures
- 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
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World equities slide on recession fear
Global stock markets nursed steep losses Wednesday on resurgent fear that sharp interest rate hikes, aimed at tackling runaway inflation, could spark recession, dealers said.
Asia and Europe slumped after a gloomy US consumer confidence report had sent Wall Street tumbling on Tuesday.
European sentiment was rocked also by data showing Spanish inflation rocketed to a 37-year peak of 10.2 percent in June on rising energy and food prices.
The news sent the Madrid stock market down 1.8 percent, mirroring losses in Frankfurt and Hong Kong.
"So much for the big stock market comeback. Another day, another sea of red on the market," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
The selloff followed more than a week of global gains caused by hopes that any signs of contraction could give central banks room to ease up on their pace of monetary tightening.
But New York stocks tanked Tuesday on data showing confidence among US consumers -- a key driver of the world's top economy -- had fallen to its lowest level in more than a year.
The data re-ignited stubborn worries over the strength of the world economy, and eclipsed news of a surprise move by China to slash the quarantine period for incoming travellers.
That had raised hopes for further relaxations that can allow the country's giant economy to recover more quickly.
- 'Down the drain' -
"With signs that consumer confidence is seeping away, worries that global growth will go down the drain have returned to rattle financial markets," said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"Covid restrictions may have eased for international travellers to China as infections rates slow, but one global problem is being replaced by another -- fear that recessions are looming around the world."
Fed officials on Tuesday tried to play down the chances of a recession, expressing hope of a soft landing.
Oil prices advanced on expectations of demand growth as China lifts Covid restrictions and owing to tight supplies following bans on Russian imports.
Observers warned that G7 plans for a price cap on Russian crude was unlikely to have a massive impact on benchmark values.
- Key figures at around 1100 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 7,288.04 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.9 percent at 12,985.01
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.2 percent at 6,012.53
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.3 percent at 3,504.94
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 26,804.60 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.9 percent at 21,996.89 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.4 percent at 3,361.52 (close)
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.6 percent at 30,946.99 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.6 percent at $118.65 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $112.55 per barrel
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0525 from $1.0519 Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2159 from $1.2184
Euro/pound: UP at 86.57 pence from 86.33 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 136.48 yen from 136.14 yen
Y.Jeong--CPN