- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- '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
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Markets rattled by fears of fresh Covid curbs in China
Asian and European stocks mostly fell Monday, with investor sentiment hit by renewed Covid concerns in China amid warnings that markets would remain lacklustre for some time.
Shares headed lower as China's first coronavirus death in six months sparked fears officials would reimpose strict, economically painful restrictions to fight outbreaks across the country.
"The bear market is not over, in our view," Goldman Sachs strategist Peter Oppenheimer said.
"The conditions that are typically consistent with an equity trough have not yet been reached. We would expect lower valuations (consistent with recessionary outcomes), a trough in the momentum of growth deterioration, and a peak in interest rates before a sustained recovery begins."
Oil prices also slid on fears over energy demand in China, the world's second biggest economy.
"There are concerns China may tighten Covid curbs further after the first Covid-related death in almost six months was reported, and a city near Beijing enforced a slew of restrictions," said market analyst Fawad Razaqzada.
"Traders are also concerned by continued weakness in crypto prices in the wake of FTX's collapse," he said.
The death of an 87-year-old man in Beijing on Sunday came as infections across the country spiked, testing authorities' plans to loosen their grip by lowering quarantine times for foreigners and cancelling mass tests.
Two further Covid deaths were recorded on Monday, both elderly residents from Beijing.
The news threw a spanner in the works for investors who had grown hopeful of a gradual reopening of China's economy.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell nearly two percent, extending a sell-off at the end of last week.
Shanghai was also down along with most Asian markets, but Bangkok, Tokyo and Wellington ended higher.
Nevertheless, global markets have enjoyed a broadly healthy November thanks to signs of China easing and indications of slowing US inflation that fanned optimism the Federal Reserve would start to slow its pace of interest rate hikes.
But several officials soon lined up to warn that more needed to be done to get inflation back down from four-decade highs to more bearable levels.
Markets are meanwhile expected to stay relatively quiet for the rest of the week, with many US investors taking time off for Thanksgiving.
- Key figures around 1430 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,373.98 points
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 6,626.94
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 14,379.97
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,909.67
New York - Dow: DOWN by less than 0.1 percent at 33,735.28
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 27,944.79 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.9 percent at 17,655.91 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,085.04 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0240 from $1.0325 on Friday
Dollar/yen: UP at 141.48 yen from 140.37 yen
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.1809 from $1.1890
Euro/pound: UP at 86.71 pence from 86.34 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.7 percent at $77.16 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 3.7 percent at $84.36 per barrel
S.F.Lacroix--CPN