- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- 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
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- 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
Stocks selloff deepens, pound takes fresh tumble
A global stocks selloff over fears about the impact of interest rate hikes that seek to tackle sky-high inflation deepened on Friday.
The pound hit a two-year low at $1.2276, one day after the Bank of England (BoE) lifted UK borrowing costs to a 13-year peak and highlighted recession risks.
The euro jumped to 85.79 pence, which was last seen late in 2021.
Oil prices rebounded after key producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia refused to lift output more than their planned marginal increase as they weighed tight supply concerns caused by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
- 'Sinking feeling' -
"A sinking feeling has taken over financial markets at the end of a volatile week," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter.
"Investors are digesting the unpalatable implications of inflation and fretting that there will be a need for a bigger dose of the bitter medicine being administered to try and bring it under control."
Asian equities tumbled after steep Wall Street losses Thursday, as traders contemplated a period of fierce monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve.
The Fed on Wednesday lifted borrowing costs 50 basis points -- the most since 2000 -- and signalled more increases as inflation sits at the highest levels in decades.
Rate tightening increases borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, harming economic recovery from the pandemic.
- 'Porcelain doll' -
In the United States, the Nasdaq shares index -- which is dominated by tech firms particularly sensitive to higher interest rates -- plunged five percent Thursday, while the broader Dow and S&P 500 each slumped by more than three percent.
That selloff filtered through to Asia, where Hong Kong tanked 3.8 percent Friday as tech firms took a hit.
"Concern about inflation is the culprit and the wild swings we've seen this week are a reminder that sentiment is about as fragile as a porcelain doll," noted AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
"The other fear is that the cure for inflation, higher rates, could be as bad as the disease if they choke off growth and even lead to recession."
Wall Street's main stock indices fell further at the start of trading on Friday, with a strong US jobs report that indicated people left the labour force last month, which will make it more difficult for the Fed ease the tight jobs market.
"Given the record number of job openings, that is a signpost that will continue to leave the market concerned about persistent wage-based inflation pressures as employers offer wage-based incentives to attract workers," said market analyst Patrick J. O'Hare at Briefing.com.
Markets have also been battered this year by economic fallout from the raging Ukraine conflict.
Adding to the angst is weakness in China's economy caused by strict lockdowns and other containment measures as officials struggle to bring a virus flare-up under control by sticking to a zero-Covid policy.
In foreign exchange, the pound remains plagued by the BoE's forecast that UK inflation would top 10 percent and the economy contract later this year.
- Key figures at around 1330 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.2 percent at 7,411.56 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.4 percent at 13,714.32
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.6 percent at 6,267.45
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.6 percent at 3,637.06
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 32,786.77
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 3.8 percent at 20,001.96 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 2.2 percent at 3,001.56 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 27,003.56 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.3 percent at $112.37 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.1 percent at $109.48 per barrel
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0582 from $1.0542 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2336 from $1.2362
Euro/pound: UP at 85.75 pence from 85.28 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 130.54 yen from 130.20 yen
burs-rl/jv
P.Queiroz--PC