- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
Stocks slide as traders track Ukraine crisis
Stock markets moved lower Thursday as investors assessed the latest twists in the Ukraine crisis, while oil prices retreated on further signs of a breakthrough in Iran nuclear talks, analysts said.
Haven investment gold won support, rising very close to $1,900 an ounce over concerns of a potential invasion of Ukraine by neighbouring Russia.
The crisis in Ukraine is a serious threat to the global economy's post-pandemic recovery, Indonesia's leader warned at a meeting of finance chiefs from the G20 wealthy nations.
The Kremlin said the country's withdrawal of forces from around Ukraine's borders would take place over an extended period, while Kyiv's allies said Russia appeared to still be moving towards an invasion.
Meanwhile, there were reports of intensifying shell fire between Ukranian forces and Moscow-backed separatists, and Russia expelled a senior US diplomat.
"In recent weeks, there have been instances where the prospect of an outright invasion seemed more likely, but in the past 24 hours we seem to have been stuck in no man’s land, and seeing as traders despise uncertainty, equity benchmarks are under pressure," said Equiti Capital market analyst David Madden.
Global equities were sent plunging and crude surged at the start of the week after a top US official said Russia could invade Ukraine imminently, but Moscow appeared to soothe those fears Tuesday by saying it had started withdrawing some soldiers.
European stocks initially held up fairly well thanks to a slew of good earnings results.
European aircraft giant Airbus posted record profits in 2021 after two years of losses as it cruises past the pandemic-induced crisis in the travel industry, company results showed Thursday.
Air France-KLM cut losses in half compared to 2020 to 3.3 billion euros.
Elsewhere, Swiss food giant Nestle's net profit and sales rose in 2021 as it hiked prices amid soaring global inflation, and Commerzbank returned to profit despite spending one billion euros to downsize its branch network and staff.
Asian equity markets enjoyed broadly positive sessions on Thursday.
- Oil drops -
High oil prices, which have contributed heavily to the soaring inflation, fell sharply Thursday on growing hopes that talks on the Iran nuclear deal could soon bear fruit.
Tehran's top negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani said an agreement was "closer than ever" and while Washington and Paris were a little more circumspect, the comments raised the possibility that Iranian crude could return to the market soon.
"Positive developments in the US-Iran nuclear negotiations are helping to calm oil prices," noted Claudio Galimberti at Rystad Energy.
"Although not a done deal yet, prices are sliding on news of progress and broad consensus in the talks as it could ultimately see up to 900,000 barrels a day of crude added to the market by December this year."
The developments offset uncertainty over the Russia-Ukraine crisis, which had helped propel prices towards $100 per barrel for the first time in more than seven years, and come with demand continuing to improve as the world economy reopens.
- Key figures around 1630 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.2 percent at 34,516.89 points
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.7 percent at 4,109.23
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.9 percent at 7,537.37 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.7 percent at 15,267.63 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 6,946.82 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 27,232.87 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 24,792.77 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,468.04 (close)
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.1 percent at $91.74 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.9 percent at $92.99 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1363 from $1.1381 late Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3623 from $1.3589
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.43 pence from 83.75 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 115.00 yen from 115.49 yen
burs-rl/bp
A.Santos--PC