- Restored 'Apollo Belvedere' marble back on show in the Vatican
- Lagos festival dances to Nigerian icon Fela Kuti's beat
- Italian PM hails 'courageous' Albania migrant deal
- 'Tragedy in Jabalia' as Israel army tightens siege in north Gaza
- Draft UN climate pact leaves open thorny question of money
- Musiala and Upamecano return to Bayern training
- Wirtz return 'unclear' after injury on Germany duty
- Ghulam says 'wait is over' after century on Pakistan debut
- Two giant pandas arrive in US from China
- Japan hold Australia, S. Korea and China win in World Cup qualifying
- Mbappe's golden-boy image takes a hit amid negative headlines
- Wales lock Jenkins to miss November Tests with 'horrible' injury lay-off
- France to play Israel in Paris and allow fans in
- Twin panda cubs to make public debut at Berlin zoo
- Scotland's Kinghorn maintains Lions 'dream' despite Toulouse clash
- Pakistan debutant Ghulam hits century to defy England in second Test
- Boeing announces intention to raise up to $25 bn
- Tuchel 'in talks with FA' over England manager's job
- Dutch rider Lavreysen targets record at world track championships
- Bangladesh suspend Hathurusingha as coach after alleged assault
- Russian Olympic chief announces surprise resignation
- Ferguson to leave Man Utd ambassador role as club cuts costs
- Turkish govt defends tax plan to fund defence industry
- Eidevall quits as Arsenal Women head coach
- Swedish prosecutor confirms 'rape' probe without naming Mbappe
- England dismiss Ayub but Pakistan reach 173-3 at tea in second Test
- Israel vows to put 'national interest' first in response to Iran attack
- Mbappe-PSG salary row faces hearing as France captain cited in 'rape' report
- K-pop star tells South Korea lawmakers of workplace bullying
- Ex-Wallabies captain Elsom denies wrongdoing after arrest warrant
- Pakistan 79-2 at lunch in second England Test after Leach strikes
- Hopes pinned on peace across Taiwan Strait after drills
- Valencia fans leave Singapore with 'stern warning' after protest
- Falling sales cause sour grapes for iconic Portugal wine
- Belgian pathologist and literary star gives 'voice to the dead'
- Ethiopia's 'korale' recyclers turn waste into money
- Italy row, AI in focus at world's biggest book fair
- US, Philippines launch war games a day after China's Taiwan drills
- Scotland lock Gray signs for Japan's Toyota
- Allen and Bills foil Rodgers, outlast Jets 23-20
- East Timor fights new battles 25 years after independence vote
- Japan election campaigns kick off for Oct 27 vote
- Taiwan detects record 153 Chinese military aircraft after drills
- Oil prices drop on easing fears over Middle East, most markets rise
- Reoxygenating oceans: startups lead the way in Baltic Sea
- North Korea's Kim holds security meeting over drone flights
- Cars, chlamydia threaten Australian koalas
- Small town India's DIY film industry comes to London
- Can biodiversity credits unlock billions for nature?
- Texas poised to execute autistic man for 'shaken baby' death
CMSD | 0.3% | 25.055 | $ | |
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BTI | -0.1% | 35.415 | $ | |
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VOD | -0.05% | 9.675 | $ |
Oil prices fall on easing Middle East fears
Oil prices tumbled Tuesday on reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden he would not strike Iran's crude or nuclear facilities.
Crude prices were also pulled lower by worries about demand in China after Beijing failed to announce any new stimulus for its stuttering economy at a weekend briefing.
Major stock markets diverged with declines in Shanghai, Hong Kong and London, while Frankfurt rose on a report showing reviving investor confidence.
In New York, the Dow was lower and the other main indexes little changed after the market hit record highs Monday.
Key US oil contract West Texas Intermediate fell more than five percent to below $70 a barrel before clawing back some of the losses. It was last down 4.6 percent at $70.41.
European benchmark Brent North Sea crude slumped by a similar amount.
Iran's missile attacks on Israel earlier this month sent crude prices soaring on fears that retaliatory strikes would disrupt oil supplies.
But Tuesday's news of Netanyahu's assurances has "alleviated some of that supply concern", said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"With the geopolitical risk-premium falling, prices are once again being led by the struggling demand picture," he added.
The International Energy Agency said global oil markets remain "adequately" supplied thanks to the end of a Libyan oil blockade, weaker demand and relatively modest output losses from hurricanes in the US Gulf Coast.
- China woes -
Adding to downward pressure on oil prices is concern that China, the world's largest importer of crude, is failing to reignite its ailing economy.
Investors have been left disappointed by lack of detail from China's finance minister Lan Fo'an over the size and scale of stimulus measures to jumpstart the world's second-largest economy.
"Everywhere you look, China is in desperate need for fiscal support, with very weak domestic demand alongside an economy facing deflationary pressures and softer global demand," said Rodrigo Catril, a senior strategist at National Australia Bank.
Those Chinese concerns weighed on the region's stock market, with Hong Kong closing down nearly four percent Tuesday and Shanghai shedding 2.5 percent.
There were record closes for the Dow and the S&P 500 on Wall Street Monday. The Dow was down slightly Tuesday, but the S&P and Nasdaq Composite were largely holding onto their gains as trading got underway.
Goldman Sachs said before the market opened that third-quarter profit jumped almost 50 percent. Its shares were up almost two percent.
Goldman's profits followed positive third-quarter reports from JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America.
The strong earnings reports are "a welcome addition to the usual commentary which has been based around inflation and unemployment data", said David Morrison, analyst at Trade Nation.
London was lower mid-afternoon despite official data showing that Britain's unemployment and wage growth had eased, boosting analyst expectations that the Bank of England would resume cutting interest rates next month.
Paris stocks dropped but Frankfurt was higher after a survey showed that German investor confidence rose more than expected in October as the prospect of lower interest rates provided a glimmer of hope to businesses in Europe's largest economy.
In Stockholm, Ericsson shares were up almost nine percent after the Swedish telecoms giant said it returned to profit in the third quarter.
- Key figures around 1340 GMT -
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 4.6 percent at $70.41 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 4.3 percent at $74.14 per barrel
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 42,835.21 points
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.1 percent at 5,865.58 points
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 18,548.50 points
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 8,261.23
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.8 percent at 7,539.58
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 19,564.87
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 3.7 percent at 20,318.79 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 2.5 percent at 3,201.29 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.8 percent at 39,910.55 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0914 from $1.0911 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3096 from $1.3060
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 149.18 yen from 149.74 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.34 pence from 83.51 pence
P.Serra--PC