- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- 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
Recession fears, rising inflation spook global markets
European and Asian markets took a beating Thursday after Wall Street suffered one of its worst batterings in two years over recession fears after decades-high inflation.
Downcast earnings reports from retailers have heightened worries about consumer resilience at a time of rising interest rates, surging energy prices, China lockdowns and the Ukraine war.
"Inflation is catching up and profit margins are taking a hit. Soon enough though, those higher costs will continue to be passed on and consumers will stop dipping into savings and start being more careful with their spending," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.
"The question is whether we're going to see a slowdown or a recession," he said.
Leading European and Asian stock indices closed in the red.
On Wall Street, the Dow was lower in late morning trading but both the broader S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite were higher.
Shares in Chinese tech giants plunged after Tencent reported lacklustre profits, fuelling wider concerns over China's economic outlook.
Tencent shares plunged more than eight percent in early trading before paring losses slightly, a day after it posted its slowest revenue gain since going public in 2004.
Among other tech titans, Alibaba dropped more than six percent.
On Wall Street Wednesday, all three major US indices dived, with the Dow sinking more than 1,150 points or 3.6 percent.
The Nasdaq plunged 4.7 percent by the close.
"Consumer confidence is likely to drop further as incomes are squeezed. Those big falls in shares of retailers –- Target and Walmart -– and others such as Amazon and Apple we saw on Wednesday certainly point towards this trend," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com.
"Inflation is not going to be easing significantly any time soon, at a time when the economic outlook also appears grim."
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said the US dollar suffered as well on Thursday "driven by lower yields as concerns grow about the resilience of the US economy over the course of the rest of the year".
In some of his most hawkish remarks to date, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell this week said the US central bank would raise interest rates until there is "clear and convincing" evidence that inflation is in retreat.
But higher borrowing costs increases debt, heaping further pressure on consumers and businesses.
The United States is facing the fastest inflation in four decades, as is Britain, causing the Bank of England to also raise interest rates.
- Key figures at around 1530 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 31,385.97 points
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.3 percent at 3,640.55
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.8 percent at 7,302.74 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.9 percent at 13,882.30 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.2 percent at 6,272.71 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.5 percent at 20,120.60 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,096.96 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.9 percent at 26,402.84 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.9 percent at $110.18 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.21 percent at $109.82 per barrel
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0587 from $1.0479 at 2100 GMT Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2501 from $1.2346
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.70 pence from 84.88 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 127.38 yen from 128.58
J.V.Jacinto--PC