- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
China worries weigh on global stocks
Stock markets mostly fell Tuesday as investors worried about the impact of the Covid outbreak in China and rising interest rates in the United States.
Wall Street failed to get any momentum from Monday's gains and a relief rally in Europe faded as the day wore on.
The European single currency hit a two-year low against the dollar, which was boosted by its haven status amid Ukraine turmoil.
But world oil prices rebounded from heavy losses in recent days on fears over weaker Chinese demand.
"The inability of equity markets to hold on to today’s initial gains doesn’t bode particularly well and speaks to a general lack of confidence more broadly about the economic outlook, and the ability of central banks to engineer a 'soft landing' as they look to tackle inflation," said market analyst Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.
Patrick J. O'Hare pointed out that even data showing a rebound in March of orders of US durable goods was not enough to turn around sentiment.
It is "another indication that market participants have their doubts about stronger economic activity persisting in the face of clear growth obstacles like hawkish-minded central banks and ongoing supply chain pressures that have been felt with China's lockdowns."
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 3.0 percent ahead of earnings reports from Google-parent Alphabet and Microsoft, with were also down sharply.
The Omicron flare-up across China has led authorities to impose strict containment measures in its biggest cities, shutting off millions of people and threatening to deal a hammer blow to the world's number two economy.
Hong Kong stocks edged up but made only a small dent in the massive losses suffered the day before, while Shanghai extended the previous day's losses of more than five percent.
Sentiment was soothed somewhat after the People's Bank of China vowed to boost growth and consumption.
China's Covid measures have dealt a severe blow to its economy, leading to concerns about knock-on effects for the rest of the world -- given its reliance on Chinese-made goods.
The China crisis comes as traders grapple with a hawkish Fed, which is struggling to control inflation that sits at a more than 40-year high.
US central bank policymakers have said they are keen to lift rates several times this year to get a grip on prices, with boss Jerome Powell indicating a half-point rise next month followed by more before January.
Added to the picture, the Ukraine war has sparked additional markets turmoil owing to the impact on commodity prices and inflation.
Oil prices recovered somewhat from sharp losses in recent days.
"Oil prices have rebounded modestly after yesterday’s sharp sell-off as investors look to balance how much of an effect a sharp slowdown in demand from China will have when set against the resilience of demand elsewhere, in relation to global inventories," said CMC Markets' Hewson.
- Key figures at 1530 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.4 percent at 33,557.65 points
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.0 percent at 3,721.36
London - FTSE 100: UP less than 0.1 percent at 7,386.19 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 6,414.57 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.2 percent at 13,756.40 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 26,700.11 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 19,934.71 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.4 percent at 2,886.43 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.6 percent at $103.91 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.7 percent at $100.17 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0659 from $1.0713 late on Monday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2626 from $1.2741
Euro/pound: UP at 84.44 pence from 84.08 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 127.37 yen from 128.14 yen
burs-rl/ach
A.Silveira--PC