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- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
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- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- 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
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- 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
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- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
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- 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
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- 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
Markets, oil fall on weak Chinese data
Stock markets and oil prices fell in holiday-thinned trade Monday as traders digested weak Chinese economic data and a looming US interest rate hike.
Equities kicked off the month of May on the wrong foot after Wall Street finished a tough April by closing sharply down on Friday following disappointing results from tech giant Amazon.
Paris and Frankfurt were down in midday trading while London was closed for a bank holiday.
Tokyo, Seoul, Mumbai, Manila and Wellington all fell. Hong Kong and mainland Chinese markets were closed along with several other Asian markets.
Sydney also retreated, though Qantas shares rose after the airline said it would launch the world's longest non-stop commercial flight between Sydney and London by the end of 2025.
Data at the weekend showed Chinese manufacturing activity shrank last month at its fastest pace since the start of the pandemic as the government applies Covid-19 lockdowns in the country's biggest cities.
The government's refusal to shift from its zero-Covid policy and strict containment measures is fanning fears about the world's number two economy and key driver of global growth.
"There is a bit of mixed sentiment among traders today," Naeem Aslam, analyst at AvaTrade, told AFP.
"On one hand you have bargain hunters coming to market but then on the other hand traders are concerned about the weakness on the Chinese economic data," he said.
- Rate hike looms large -
Investors are also looking ahead at the US Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, which starts Tuesday and is expected to see the central bank hike borrowing costs by half a point -- the most since 2000.
Some analysts are predicting the Fed could even announce a three-quarter-point increase at some point as it battles more than 40-year-high inflation.
With some commentators warning rates could go as high as three percent, there are also worries the Fed could be too heavy handed and tip the US economy into recession.
Fed boss Jerome Powell "could cement the view that 50 (basis points) is the new 25, but more worrying for stock pickers, there are lots of QE to unwind", said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes, referring to the quantitative easing bond-buying programme used by the Fed to keep rates low.
"So, the question is, how much of the impact of the balance sheet runoff" has been priced in.
The struggles in China, the world's biggest crude importer, led to a drop in prices of the commodity on demand concerns, offsetting worries about tighter supply as the EU eyes a ban on Russian oil over its invasion of Ukraine.
Brent North Sea crude, the international benchmark, was down 2.7 percent at $104.30 per barrel.
The European Commission is currently preparing a sanctions text that could be put to the 27 member states as early as Wednesday, sources said, adding that the ban would be introduced over six to eight months to give countries time to diversify their supply.
- Key figures at around 1040 GMT -
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.6 percent at 14.014.37 points
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.3 percent at 6.448,41
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.5 percent at 3.746,88
London - FTSE 100: Closed for a holiday
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 26,818.53 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: Closed for a holiday
Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday
New York - Dow: DOWN 2.8 percent at 32,977.21 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0528 from $1.0550 on Friday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2570 from $1.2578
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.77 pence from 83.86 pence
Dollar/yen: UNCHANGED at 129.89 yen
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.2 percent at $101.39 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 2.7 percent at $104.30 per barrel
S.Pimentel--PC