- 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
Asian markets sink as European stocks steady, eyes on Ukraine
Asian markets were back in negative territory Wednesday following a rout on Wall Street as traders are faced with a perfect storm of crises including China's Covid-linked economic woes, US interest rate hikes, soaring inflation and the Ukraine war.
The downbeat mood across the world has been compounded by weak earnings from some of the world's biggest companies, while pledges of support from Beijing have largely fallen on deaf ears.
Tech firms, who rely on debt to drive growth, led a plunge in New York on fears that the Federal Reserve is at the beginning of a period of sharp rate increases aimed at taming scorching inflation.
The numerous issues around the world are acting as a massive drag on sentiment, with many worrying about the global economic outlook.
While about 80 percent of S&P 500 firms reporting so far have beat expectations, National Australia Bank's Ray Attrill said misses by high-profile names were taking the spotlight.
This came "amid deepening concerns that corporate earnings, however strong now, cannot usurp the stiffening (global) economic headwinds stemming primarily from the ongoing war in Ukraine and China’s Covid-zero policy".
China's Omicron crisis has seen officials lockdown Shanghai, the country's biggest city, while there are fears Beijing will soon follow as infections continue to rise there.
That has raised concerns about already strained supply chains and that a crucial driver of world growth is enduring a serious economic slowdown.
Asian markets tracked Wall Street down.
Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok, Mumbai and Jakarta were all well down.
But Shanghai bounced following a report that Xi Jinping had committed to boosting infrastructure construction as a means of accelerating the economy. Hong Kong edged up slgihtly.
"Infrastructure is an important support for economic and social development," Xi said at a high-level meeting on Tuesday, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
The comments were the latest from China's top brass, who have made a series of promises in recent weeks to kickstart growth, but analysts said the key cause of worry for investors was the leaders' refusal to back away from their Covid strategy.
"The market is no longer responsive because there's no easing up of the negative in view right now," said Yang Ziyi, at Shenzhen Sinowise Investment.
"We just need to wait. We saw the same kind of numbness towards vocal support during the burst of the 2015 bubble and in 2018."
Analysts said there was a lot of uncertainty on trading floors.
"We know that sentiment is in a terrible state right now," said Lori Calvasina, of RBC Capital Markets, on Bloomberg TV.
"This is a market that’s very, very confused. There's just a real lack of conviction in anything people want to buy at this moment in time."
Oil -- which has been under pressure in recent days owing to worries about Chinese demand -- extended Tuesday's bounce as Russian energy giant Gazprom cut off gas to Bulgaria and Poland as they had not made payments in rubles, as demanded by Moscow. Analysts expect further gains in the commodity.
Crude "is supported via the escalation of geopolitical tensions with Russia starting to cut off EU gas supplies. And this is just the beginning, so oil could remain supported as the EU pulls the plug on gas supplies in a domino effect across the continent", said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.
"And, of course, the offset is China lockdowns and everything that entails with the oil market desperately trying to skirt those recession storm clouds building on the horizon."
Russia's move to cut off energy to Europe has fanned concerns about the continent's economic outlook, pushing the euro to a five-year low against the dollar.
Still, markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt edged up at the open.
- Key figures at 0720 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.2 percent at 26,386.63 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN UP 0.1 percent at 19,959.86
Shanghai - Composite: UP 2.5 percent at 2,958.28 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,393.02
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.6 percent at $105.58 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $102.04 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0625 from $1.0636 late on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2569 from $1.2576
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.52 pence from 84.55 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 127.98 yen from 127.21 yen
New York - Dow: DOWN 2.4 percent at 33,240.18 (close)
G.M.Castelo--PC