- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- 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
Oil surges back up on Russia tensions
Oil prices soared Thursday on tensions surrounding key producer Russia, as equities diverged with traders tracking interest rate decisions, the Ukraine conflict and China's pledge to support volatile markets.
The price of benchmark oil contract, Brent North Sea crude, jumped more than five percent to return above $100 per barrel after Russia rejected a ruling from the UN's top court to suspend its Ukraine offensive.
"Russia's invasion is still dictating price action... given the country's global importance in terms of supply," Interactive Investor analyst Victoria Scholar told AFP.
The fallout from the war in Ukraine could cut global economic growth by "over one percentage point" in the first year after the invasion, the OECD grouping of developed economies said in a report.
The impact "if sustained" would produce "a deep recession in Russia" and further increase global consumer price inflation by approximately 2.5 percentage points, it added.
The warning came as Russia's finance ministry said it had carried out interest payments on two foreign bonds, avoiding default for now after it was hit by unprecedented Western sanctions over Ukraine.
- Central banks -
Central banks were in focus again on Thursday as the Bank of England (BoE) raised its main interest rate by a quarter point, following the US Federal Reserve's decision to do the same the day before.
The hike, widely anticipated by analysts, was the BoE's third straight rate rise as it battles with decades-high UK inflation.
"The global economy faces elevated levels of inflation because of various factors, including from surging energy and commodity prices," said Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at ThinkMarkets.
US markets were slightly down shortly after opening, as the market came to terms with the Fed's decision on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 slipped 0.4 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.9 percent.
In Asia, Hong Kong's main stocks index closed with another massive gain, as investors pile back in after China's pledge to support markets.
The Hang Seng surged seven percent, a day after a nine-percent jump.
Another blistering surge in tech firms helped Hong Kong extend its recovery from the recent rout, while traders also cheered soothing comments on the US economy by the Fed.
China's top economic official has vowed measures to support beaten-down markets and indicated that a debilitating crackdown on the technology sector was nearing its end.
"The statement addressed so many issues on various fronts, which is really rare," said Ding Shuang at Standard Chartered.
"Selloffs tended to be self-fulfilling partly because of the lack of response from the government," but part of the government's aim is likely to break that inertia and stabilise expectations, he added.
- Key figures around 1330 GMT -
Brent North Sea crude: UP 7.0 percent at $104.74 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 6.7 percent at $101.43 per barrel
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 7,330.50 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.3 percent at 14,249.45
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 at 6,552.16
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.1 percent at 3,846.99
New York - DOW: DOWN 0.4 percent at 33,939.45
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 7.0 percent at 21,501.23 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 3.5 percent at 26,652.88 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 3,215.04 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1060 from $1.1038 late Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3106 from $1.3148
Euro/pound: UP at 84.41 pence from 83.90 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 118.77 yen from 118.73 yen
M.Gameiro--PC