- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- 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
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World stocks rally but oil prices tumble
Global main stock markets rallied Friday as investors fished for bargain shares and shrugged off losses elsewhere, but oil prices fell as concerns over the global economy persist.
London stocks were lifted by official data showing UK retail sales rose 0.6 percent in October, rebounding from a 1.5-percent slump in September.
The news boosted the pound, which had fallen the previous day on a harsh government budget and confirmation Britain was in recession.
London stocks gained 0.6 percent, while Frankfurt and Paris jumped 1.1 and 1.0 percent in value respectively.
The pound also rebounded after a sharp fall against the dollar Thursday.
But others cautioned against getting too excited by the UK retail data since the country is in the grip of a worsening cost-of-living crisis.
"It is not the start of a promising trend," said Craig Erlam at OANDA online trading platform.
The Dow Jones was also up 0.7 percent after opening in New York buoyed by earnings reports from retail companies including Gap and Foot Locker.
But with worries about the world's economy and rising coronavirus cases in China, the price of the main US crude oil contract, WTI, fell Friday below $80 per barrel for the first time since the end of September.
The main international oil contract, Brent crude, also tumbled by nearly four percent Friday around 1430 GMT.
- Fears abound -
Asian equities experienced mixed fortunes Friday as cautious investors tried to gauge the outlook for Federal Reserve monetary policy after several officials tempered optimism over signs that inflation is slowing in the world's biggest economy.
While the week has been broadly positive for global equities following softer-than-expected US consumer and wholesale price figures, a strong reading on retail sales and jobless claims showed plenty of resilience to higher interest rates.
With that in mind, St Louis Fed President James Bullard warned more hikes were needed to bring inflation down from four-decade highs, adding that US interest rates might need to go as high as seven percent.
That was followed by Minneapolis Fed boss Neel Kaskari saying he had not witnessed much evidence that underlying demand was cooling and did not want to forecast when the tightening would end.
The comments came after a similar message from other policymakers, who have sought to calm markets, which soared in the wake of last Thursday's consumer prices reading.
They also fuelled fears among traders that the sharp rate-hiking campaign -- including four bumper 0.75-point increases in a row -- would tip the US economy into recession.
"Investors seem continually surprised by the Fed merely repeating its mantra," said Interactive Investor analyst Richard Hunter.
"Rates are likely to continue rising... and may well stay higher until such time as a sustained slowdown in inflation is evident."
- Key figures around 1430 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,387.76 points
Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 6,645.38
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.1 percent at 14,419.46
EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.2 percent at 3,926.21
New York - Dow: 0.7 percent at 33,792.59 points
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 27,899.77 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 17,992.54 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,097.24 (close)
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.1888 from $1.1864 on Thursday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0348 from $1.0362
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 139.77 yen from 140.20 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.05 from 87.34 pence
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 3.9 percent at $86.27 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 4.5 percent at $77.93 per barrel
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