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- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- 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
Asia stocks track US, European surge, oil extends losses
Asian equities rallied Thursday following a strong bounce on Wall Street and a breathtaking surge in Europe sparked by a plunge in oil prices and bargain-buying following a Ukraine-fuelled rout.
A glimmer of hope for peace talks provided some much-needed support to asset markets, which have been in the grip of extreme volatility in the two weeks since Russia invaded its neighbour, sparking a wave of sanctions against Moscow.
However, commentators urged caution in a time of massive uncertainty, with some warning that further losses for stocks were likely and crude will no doubt remain elevated for some time.
But for now, investors are enjoying a rare moment of calm, lapping up cheaper equities after a blockbuster day for their US and European colleagues.
The Dow jumped two percent, the S&P 500 even more and the tech-heavy Nasdaq an impressive 3.6 percent.
Frankfurt rocketed nearly eight percent and Paris more than seven percent, with analysts also crediting the gains to talk of a plan to issue more joint debt to fast-track green energy and renewables, defence and subsidies for spiking energy costs.
But a key driver of the advance was a massive drop in oil prices, which provided some relief to traders worried about already high inflation being sent even higher.
Brent at one point dropped to as low as $105.60, having hit a peak of $139 two days before, on hopes that the huge amounts of Russian oil taken out of the market by sanctions could be largely replaced by sourcing from elsewhere.
The United Arab Emirates said Wednesday it would urge fellow states in the OPEC oil producers' cartel to boost output, while US talks with massive producer Venezuela appeared to be making progress.
At the same time Iraq has said it could lift output and nuclear talks with Iran were also showing signs of bearing fruit.
Both main contracts were down in Asian trade Thursday but with the war in Ukraine still raging and supplies still tight, expectations are for the commodity to maintain its strength.
Meanwhile, the optimists were given a lift after a top foreign policy aide to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the country was prepared to talk about Moscow's demand for it to remain neutral in return for security guarantees.
"Surely, we are ready for a diplomatic solution," deputy chief of staff Ihor Zhovkva told Bloomberg Television.
"Our first and foremost pre-condition for having such kind of negotiations is immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of Russian troops."
That came as Russia's foreign ministry said it would be better if its goals in Ukraine were achieved through talks.
Investors will be keeping a close eye on a meeting between the countries' foreign ministers in Turkey on Thursday, marking the first high-level contact between Kyiv and Moscow since the invasion.
"If you see a resolution of the war in Ukraine -- and we are getting some reports that Russia and Ukraine might be moving closer to the negotiation stage -- that could help shift sentiment," said Nadia Lovell of UBS Global Wealth Management.
But she said she saw further choppiness ahead.
On equity markets, Tokyo bolted 3.8 percent higher, while Hong Kong, Seoul and Taipei climbed more than two percent each. Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Manila and Wellington were also sharply up.
However, markets remain well down on the year and Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management said: "It has been a harrowing week for investors; keep in mind these are financial-crises-type markets where everybody is trading headlines and chasing the same momentum intraday.
"But this should prove to be a reminder that systematic flow can move markets both ways, especially when the active investor base sits on the sidelines."
- Key figures around 0300 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 3.8 percent at 25,667.85 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.1 percent at 21,053.66
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.8 percent at 3,314.87
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $110.47 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.1 percent at $107.52
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1054 from $1.1067 late Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3161 from $1.3181
Euro/pound: UP at 84.00 pence from 83.94 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 116.05 yen from 115.86 yen
New York - Dow: UP 2.0 percent at 33,286.25 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 3.3 percent at 7,190.72 (close)
T.Vitorino--PC