- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- 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
Oil prices slide as EU snubs Russia ban
Benchmark oil prices slid by three percent Friday after European countries decided against a ban on Russian oil imports over its Ukraine invasion -- but Germany said it would drastically slash its energy purchases from Moscow.
European stocks climbed after an upbeat US performance, but gains were capped by caution as Russia's invasion of its neighbour entered its second month.
"European reluctance to walk away from the Russian oil weighs on oil prices," said Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
But the United States and EU did announce a drive to wean Europe off Russian gas imports and so choke off the billions in revenues that are fuelling Moscow's ruinous war.
Europe's biggest economy, Germany, said its own Russian oil imports would be halved by June and coal deliveries stopped by the autumn of this year.
On stock markets, London advanced in midday deals as investors set aside official data showing a drop in UK retail sales.
Frankfurt and Paris equities climbed in early afternoon deals despite weak regional economic data.
However, "anxieties about the increasingly entrenched conflict in Ukraine are" holding back share price gains, said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter.
Russia launched its assault on Ukraine on February 24, sending shockwaves across global markets that continue to reverberate.
The business climate in Germany worsened in March, the Ifo index showed, amid fears over soaring energy prices and deepening supply-chain woes owing to the Ukraine war.
Wall Street had rallied overnight as data showed filings for US unemployment benefits hit their lowest level since September 1969.
However, Asian markets fluctuated as traders focused on the impact of the Ukraine war, alongside surging inflation and Federal Reserve plans to fight it.
The crisis in eastern Europe has forced investors to reassess their outlook for the global economy owing to an expected surge in already soaring prices, which some commentators now warn could lead to recessions.
- Key figures around 1215 GMT -
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 3.0 percent at $115.44 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.3 percent at $109.73 per barrel
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,493.55 points
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.9 percent at 14,408.61
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 6,610.53
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.9 percent at 3,899.11
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 28,149.84 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.5 percent at 21,404.88 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.2 percent at 3,212.24 (close)
New York - DOW: UP 1.0 percent at 34,707.94 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1011 from $1.0997 late Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3202 from $1.3187
Euro/pound: UP at 83.41 pence from 83.39 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 121.64 yen from 122.35 yen
A.Silveira--PC