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- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
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- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
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- Oil extends gains, jobs report lifts Wall Street
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Oil extends gains, Hong Kong stocks resume rally
- 'A man provides': Ukrainian miners send families away as Russia advances
- EU states greenlight extra tariffs on EVs from China
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- Israel-Hamas war causes 86-percent dive in Gaza GDP: IMF
- Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
- Relief in Brazil, Asia over delay to EU deforestation rules
- Oil prices jump, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Biden says 'discussing' possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
- Oil prices rise, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- 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
Stocks surge on interest rate hopes
Global stocks rallied Tuesday and the dollar mostly slid as weak US data sparked hopes the Federal Reserve could ease its interest-rate hiking plans.
Frankfurt and Paris equities both soared around four percent in value after Tokyo gained 3.0 percent, while London won 2.6 percent.
Wall Street's surged higher for the second straight day, with the Dow rising 2.7 percent. The S&P 500 jumped 2.9 percent and the Nasdaq Composite 3.4 percent.
"Weaker-than-expected manufacturing data from the US was taken as a signal that rising interest rates may be having some effect on cooling demand for goods," said Interactive Investor analyst Richard Hunter.
"This in turn led to hopes of a Federal Reserve pivot, even though the spectre of inflation remains firmly at the top of their stated to-do list."
The Fed and other central banks across the world have raised interest rates in efforts to tame runaway inflation, but the monetary tightening has raised fears that it could plunge countries into recession.
Those concerns have fed into sharp drops in stocks in recent weeks, as have expectations that the Fed will have to raise interest rates by a couple more percentage points through much of next year to get on top of inflation.
But Wall Street had enjoyed a bumper start to the fourth quarter on Monday after data showed US manufacturing growth slowed more than expected in September to its weakest in more than two years.
The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index dropped 1.9 points to 50.9 percent, just barely above the 50-percent threshold indicating expansion, as the prices index fell to the lowest in more than two years.
Eurozone manufacturing survey data out Monday showed a contraction on the back of the region's ongoing energy crisis.
"The turnaround in risk appetite appears to have been driven by another deterioration in PMI surveys as traders speculate that such weakness could be a precursor to slower monetary tightening," noted OANDA market analyst Craig Erlam.
Asian markets built on the Monday Wall Street surge. Tokyo and Seoul were among the leaders, despite news that North Korea had fired a missile over Japan for the first time since 2017.
Sydney soared 3.8 percent after the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted interest rates by less than expected.
Hong Kong and Shanghai were closed for holidays.
Investors will focus later this week on Friday's all-important US jobs figures for the latest reading on the health of the world's biggest economy.
"The specter of the September employment report on Friday, however, is still hanging out there as a potential spoiler," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
"By the same token, it could also provide more interest rate relief if it is on the weaker side of things," he added.
- Sterling extends gains -
Oil also continued to push higher on expectations OPEC and other major producers will slash output this week, having become spooked by a plunge in the price of the commodity on recession fears.
The 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Riyadh, and their 10 allies headed by Moscow will hold Wednesday their first in-person meeting at the group's headquarters in Vienna since March 2020.
The rally in equities came as the dollar weakened owing to lower expectations for US monetary tightening, with the pound also supported by the UK government's decision to scrap a planned cut in the top rate of income tax.
The pound extended gains after breaking back above $1.14, having last Monday tanked to a record low $1.0350. The euro rose around 1.5 percent against the greenback.
- Key figures around 1530 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 2.7 percent at 30,273.78 points
EURO STOXX 50: UP 4.3 percent at 3,484.48
Paris - CAC 40: UP 4.2 percent at 6,039.69 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 3.8 percent at 12,670.48 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 2.6 percent at 7,086.46 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 3.0 percent at 26,992.21 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: Closed for a holiday
Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.1440 from $1.1323 on Monday
Euro/dollar: UP at $0.9976 from $0.9826
Euro/pound: UP at 87.16 pence from 86.77 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.39 yen from 144.55 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 3.5 percent at $91.94 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.4 percent at $86.48 per barrel
burs-rl/cdw
C.Smith--CPN