- Oil giant BP reports drop in third-quarter net profit
- World's first green energy island sails into cost storm
- Georgia to partially recount disputed votes
- Pope's commission against abuse to publish first report
- Grieving parents fight to make Bulgaria's killer roads safer
- Taiwan worries about 'transactionalist' Trump as US votes
- Cuba's Buena Vista trumpeter Manuel 'Guajiro' Mirabal dies
- Spain seeks ground-breaking law for great apes
- Japan nuclear reactor near Fukushima to restart
- Suns scorch Lakers, Celtics stay perfect
- HSBC reports $8.5 billion pre-tax profit in third quarter
- A rare rehab centre fixes victims of Ethiopia's war
- The growing scourge of plastic pollution: in numbers
- Plastics: lifesaver turned environmental threat
- Outrage as Iran executes German-Iranian Jamshid Sharmahd
- China's only woman spaceflight engineer in crew for 'dream' mission
- Ohtani, Buehler overcome injuries to lift Dodgers a win from glory
- India temple firework explosion injures over 150
- S. Korean golfer Tom Kim sorry for damaging locker after playoff loss
- Dodgers beat Yankees to reach brink of World Series crown
- Asian shares rise as markets await tech results
- Iraq opens arms to Lebanese fleeing Israeli attacks
- Bruised Japan PM scrambles for support
- Saudi 'Davos in the desert' opens with region on war footing
- Myanmar's lost generation battles trauma, addiction at jungle rehab
- 'No one heard our cries': Tigray war rape survivors recount their ordeals
- Countdown to Busan: is a plastic pollution treaty in reach?
- Japan voters say 'punished' ruling party over scandal
- UNRWA, a lifeline for Palestinians amid decades of conflict
- Cuban blackout highlights urgency of boosting renewables: experts
- 'Amazing' AI de-ages Tom Hanks in new film 'Here'
- Big guns descend on Cali for final push in UN biodiversity talks
- 'I'm not a Nazi,' Trump insists as Harris blasts vile rhetoric
- Rodri wins men's Ballon d'Or as Real Madrid boycott
- Curry to miss at least two NBA games with left ankle injury
- Hefty electric vehicle costs dent Ford profits
- COP16 chair hails biodiversity attaining 'equal footing' with climate crisis
- Aitana Bonmati wins second successive women's Ballon d'Or
- Ohtani named in Dodgers starting line-up for World Series game three
- Real Madrid boycott Ballon d'Or ceremony
- US finalizes curbs on investing in Chinese tech
- Harris blasts Trump after racist rally rhetoric
- Tens of thousands protest in Georgia over 'stolen' election
- Man Utd sack Ten Hag, reportedly set to appoint Amorim
- Bolivia says Morales falsely claimed assassination bid
- Portuguese coach Ruben Amorim set for Manchester United job: reports
- Retiring Popp signs off as Germany's first female football superstar
- Chopin waltz unearthed after 200 years
- England's Freeman keen to make 'life a misery' for All Blacks' Reece
- Serie A strugglers Genoa sign Mario Balotelli
Asian equities rally as volatility eases for now
Asian equities rose Tuesday as the volatility that has gripped markets since Russia invaded Ukraine eased slightly, though oil extended gains as the United States contemplates releasing some of its reserves to temper prices.
With no let-up in the assault on its neighbour, Russia has been pummelled by a series of widespread and debilitating sanctions that have sent the ruble crashing, hammered its stock market and forced the central bank to more than double interest rates to 20 percent.
The crisis has also ramped up fears about supplies of crucial commodities from the region including wheat and nickel but particularly crude, just as demand surges owing to economic reopenings.
Talks between Kyiv and Moscow did not appear to yield anything positive, while Vladimir Putin laid out to French President Emmanuel Macron his demands to end the war.
They include "the recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, the demilitarisation and denazification of the Ukrainian state and ensuring its neutral status".
The conflict provides an extra headache for global central banks, who will likely have to recalibrate their plans to tighten monetary policy as they try to support their economies.
Some observers have already eased their expectations for the Federal Reserve's timetable of interest rate hikes. While this month is still tipped to see the first, few now forecast a big move.
Markets analyst Louis Navellier said a drop in Treasury yields "seems to reflect the belief that the US Fed will choose to lighten up their resolve to raise rates and plans to start running off their balance sheet until the impact of the battle in Ukraine, the sanctions on Russia, and even the lifting of most pandemic rules have played themselves out".
"In the short term, a more dovish monetary policy will be good for the stock market, particularly high valuation tech stocks."
On Wall Street the Dow and S&P 500 ended down but off earlier lows, while the Nasdaq was higher. Europe was in the red.
But Asia enjoyed another positive day, with Tokyo, Singapore, Taipei, Manila and Wellington more than one percent up while Shanghai, Hong Kong, Sydney, Jakarta and Bangkok also rose.
"Markets may well feel that the worst of the bad news is now out there, especially on the sanctions front," said OANDA's Jeffrey Halley.
"I am not so sure of that, but the market is always right, and we have to respect the momentum from a short-term perspective."
Other commentators foresaw further volatility to come.
"Over the next few weeks we'll see a lot of gyrations and a potential for an even bigger dip," Andy Kapyrin at RegentAtlantic Capital LLC told Bloomberg Television.
"But that will be a dip worth buying because most geopolitical crises are resolved relatively quickly."
Oil prices rose but the gains were more subdued than recent days as President Joe Biden considers tapping the vast US reserves to help mitigate the potential loss of Russia's huge output.
However, analysts said the measure would not likely be enough and Goldman Sachs has warned prices could hit $115.
"Another round of releasing strategic crude reserves might be a temporary solution to rising prices as long as this Russia-Ukraine crisis isn't resolved," Will Sungchil Yun, senior commodities analyst at VI Investment Corp.
A meeting of OPEC and other major producers including Russia will be closely followed on Wednesday as they discuss whether to continue with their plan to lift output.
- Key figures around 0710 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 26,844.72 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.0 percent at 22,935.17
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 3,488.83 (close)
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.7 percent at $97.39 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: UP 2.0 percent at $99.90 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1205 from $1.1220 late Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3423 from $1.3418
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.48 pence from 83.59 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 115.05 yen from 114.93 yen
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 33,892.60 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,458.25 (close)
F.Moura--PC