- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- 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
- Hong Kong stocks resume rally, oil dips after Middle East-fuelled surge
- Crude stable after Israel-Iran surge, Hong Kong stocks resume gains
- Hera spacecraft to probe asteroid deflected by defence test
- US dockworkers to head back to work after tentative deal
- After Helene's destruction, North Carolina starts to rebuild
- Dockers end three-day strike at Montreal port
- What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?
- 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
CMSC | -0.02% | 24.695 | $ | |
SCS | -1.35% | 12.797 | $ | |
BTI | -0.23% | 35.21 | $ | |
GSK | 0.51% | 39.02 | $ | |
RIO | -0.07% | 69.65 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.11% | 24.785 | $ | |
NGG | -0.96% | 65.87 | $ | |
BP | 0.9% | 33.18 | $ | |
AZN | -0.16% | 77.35 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0% | 6.98 | $ | |
BCE | 0.04% | 33.725 | $ | |
RBGPF | -1.16% | 60.1 | $ | |
BCC | -1.58% | 136.738 | $ | |
RELX | -0.9% | 45.875 | $ | |
JRI | -0.15% | 13.26 | $ | |
VOD | 0.22% | 9.681 | $ |
Stocks slide on China, US midterms
Global stock markets fell Wednesday following weak Chinese data and as traders assessed results of US midterm elections.
The dollar rose strongly versus the British pound -- a currency under pressure owing to the UK's bleak economic outlook.
Oil prices retreated as official data from China showed the world's second-largest economy languishing under its strict zero-Covid policy.
Bitcoin continued to slide on fallout from the near-collapse of cryptocurrency platform FTX, reaching the lowest level for two years at $17,172.43.
Shares in Facebook owner Meta jumped 6.1 percent at the start of trading on Wall Street after the company said it would lay off 11,000 staff, in a move which follows a recent plunge of its valuation.
The tech industry is in a serious slump and several major firms have announced mass layoffs -- Twitter's new owner Elon Musk fired half its staff last week.
Ad-supported platforms such as Facebook and Google are suffering with advertisers looking to cut costs as they struggle with inflation and rising interest rates.
- US midterms -
Equities rose ahead of the vote on the likelihood of legislative gridlock for the next two years, which would mean no new big increases in government spending and taxes.
But Republican hopes for a sweeping rebuke of President Joe Biden in congressional elections failed to materialise, with both parties picking up seats following a campaign fought against a backdrop of stubbornly high inflation and fears for US democracy.
While Republicans look like they will pick up a slim majority in the House, the outcome in the Senate is still unclear.
"The stock market had a nice, little run leading up to election day based on the gridlock angle," said Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com.
"It appears that is going to be the case, so participants are taking some money off the table," he added.
- 'No good news from China' -
In China, speculation over how long Beijing will keep its harsh lockdown-and-testing Covid-19 policies has fuelled volatility on markets, despite the government vowing it will not change course.
The restrictions have taken a toll on the Chinese economy, with Data Wednesday showing China's producer price index (PPI) fell by 1.3 percent on-year in October, pushing it into negative territory for the first time since December 2020.
The consumer price index (CPI) -- the main gauge for retail inflation -- rose 2.1 percent year-on-year in October, moderating slightly from September's two-year high of 2.8 percent.
"The economy's slowing, confirmed by the CPI data," Iris Pang, chief economist for Greater China at ING Wholesale Banking, told AFP.
"I don't see any good news from China."
- Key figures around 1330 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,291.45 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 13,618.84
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 6,419.94
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.5 percent at 3,721.68
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 32,982.50
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6 percent at 27,716.43 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.2 percent at 16,358.52 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 3,048.17 (close)
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.1397 from $1.1468 on Tuesday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0030 from $1.0005
Dollar/yen: UP at 146.38 yen from 146.26 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 87.95 pence from 87.23 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.4 percent at $87.64 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.5 percent at $93.97 per barrel
burs-rl/jmm
Ch.Lefebvre--CPN