- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- 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
Stocks rise despite jump in oil, metals prices
US and European equity markets rallied Wednesday despite another jump in the price of oil and other commodities, taking solace from Federal Reserve comments suggesting a patient approach to hiking interest rates.
In the first of two congressional hearings, Fed Chair Jerome Powell adopted a moderate tone when it came to the need to balance the fight against inflation with the uncertain economic toll of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"The near-term effects on the US economy of the invasion of Ukraine, the ongoing war, the sanctions, and of events to come, remain highly uncertain," he said in his semi-annual testimony to Congress. "We will be monitoring the situation closely."
Powell's comments came a few hours after major oil exporters declined to increase output more quickly despite the Russian invasion.
The decision by Saudi Arabia, Russia and other top oil exporters lifted crude to multi-year highs, with futures for West Texas Intermediate for delivery in April jumping seven percent to $110.60.
Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB, noted that "the global economy is facing energy starvation right now," while adding that "demand destruction will set a limit to the upside eventually," given the tightening of the physical oil market owing to sanctions towards Russia.
Other commodities also continued to rally, with European natural gas benchmarks hitting all-time highs, along with aluminum prices, amid worries over metals production from Russia.
"Supply outages from Russia are now but a question of time," said a note from Commerzbank. "Depending how long they last, they could cause turmoil on the markets –- in which case metals prices would presumably rise significantly further."
Still, solid gains by European equity bourses were followed by an upbeat US session, which saw the S&P 500 pile on nearly two percent.
"I'm not sure broader market sentiment has improved in any way since yesterday given the intensification of the invasion of Ukraine and soaring oil prices -- but equity markets are seeing some reprieve," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst with Oanda.
In a hearing with House lawmakers, Powell said he favored a modest quarter-point increase in the benchmark borrowing rate rather than a more aggressive, half-point hike for the first step expected at the central bank's meeting later this month.
But, he said, "We will need to be nimble in responding to incoming data and the evolving outlook," and left open the possibility of bigger moves if inflation stays high.
Among individual companies, Ford jumped 8.4 percent as it announced it is creating separate businesses for its conventional and electric-auto operations, as it accelerates its build-out of emission-free vehicles.
- Key figures around 2140 GMT -
Brent North Sea crude: UP 7.6 percent at $112.93 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 7.0 percent at $110.60 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 1.8 percent at 33,891.35 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 1.9 percent at 4,386.54 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 1.6 percent at 13,752.02 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 1.4 percent at 7,429.56 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 14,000.11 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.6 percent at 6,498.02 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.5 percent at 3,820.59 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.7 percent at 26,393.03 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.8 percent at 22,343.92 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,484.19 (close))
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1126 from $1.1125 late Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3405 from $1.3325
Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.95 pence from 83.49 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 115.51 yen from 114.92 yen
burs-jmb/cs
P.Mira--PC