- 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
RYCEF | 0.14% | 6.91 | $ | |
RBGPF | 100% | 59.99 | $ | |
NGG | -1.85% | 68.78 | $ | |
VOD | -2.16% | 9.74 | $ | |
GSK | -2.15% | 39.45 | $ | |
AZN | 1.14% | 79.58 | $ | |
BTI | -1.33% | 35.97 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.04% | 24.78 | $ | |
RELX | -0.11% | 47.29 | $ | |
RIO | -0.48% | 70.82 | $ | |
BCC | -1.33% | 139.53 | $ | |
JRI | -1.12% | 13.38 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.04% | 24.93 | $ | |
SCS | -2.56% | 12.87 | $ | |
BP | 0.86% | 32.37 | $ | |
BCE | -1.13% | 34.44 | $ |
Stocks sink on recession fears, oil slips
World stock markets mostly sank Thursday on intensifying recession fears, while oil prices receded after an OPEC decision to proceed with only a limited boost to output.
London, Frankfurt, Paris each tumbled more than two percent in afternoon trading.
That followed a largely downbeat performance in Asia, although Shanghai rose after data showed a forecast-beating improvement in China's services sector on easing Covid restrictions.
Wall Street opened lower, with all three major indices shedding more than one percent.
Crude futures fell as major oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia kept to a decision on a limited boost to output despite the risk that high oil prices may help push the global economy into recession.
- 'Terrible mood' -
Stock markets are "in a terrible mood across Europe", said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
"There really is a lack of good news for investors to cling onto, and the near-term outlook looks bleak."
The threat of an extended period of elevated inflation and painful interest rate hikes has left traders fretting over the threat of a prolonged economic downturn, while the Ukraine war continues to sow uncertainty.
"Recession continues to be the primary concern at the moment... as countries continue to grapple with spiralling inflation and cost-of-living crises," said Mihir Kapadia, head of Sun Global Investments.
The surge in inflation to multi-decade highs has forced central banks to swiftly raise interest rates, dealing a hefty blow to equities as companies faces higher borrowing costs.
The Federal Reserve is next month expected to announce a successive 75-basis-point hike in US interest rates.
Sweden's central bank on Thursday announced its biggest hike in 22 years, raising its main rate by 50 basis points to 0.75 percent.
There had been hope that policymakers would ease off their hikes as economies show signs of slowing, but analysts say some officials are less concerned about a recession than letting prices run out of control.
- Risk of 'going too far' -
Fed boss Jerome Powell, speaking at a European Central Bank conference Wednesday, hinted again that such hikes could lead to economic contraction.
"Is there a risk that we would go too far? Certainly there's a risk," Powell said.
"The bigger mistake to make... would be to fail to restore price stability," he insisted.
ECB President Christine Lagarde stated this week that the guardian of the euro would go "as far as necessary" to fight inflation that was set to remain "undesirably high" for "some time to come".
US data released Thursday showed that a key annual inflation measure held steady at 6.3 percent in May, but real spending by consumers declined by 0.4 percent month-over-month.
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said the decline "will fuel concerns about the Fed continuing to tighten into a slowing economic environment."
- Key figures at around 1330 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 2.2 percent at 7,152.09 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 2.3 percent at 12,700.48
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 2.4 percent at 5,888.82
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.7 percent at 3,445.19
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.1 percent at 30,693.74
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.5 percent at 26,393.04 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.6 percent at 21,859.79 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 3,398.62 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.1 percent at $115.01 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.5 percent at $108.16 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0413 from $1.0442 Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2154 from $1.2124
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.68 pence from 86.12 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 135.98 yen from 136.59 yen
burs/rl/lth
Ng.A.Adebayo--CPN