- 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
Asian markets up after China cuts key interest rate
Asian markets saw a sustained bump Friday following China's decision to lower a key benchmark rate, injecting optimism among traders that it could boost the world's second-largest economy from its Covid-battered knees.
Downcast earning reports from retailers this week have heightened uncertainty in the world markets at a time of rising interest rates, surging energy prices, China's Covid lockdowns and Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.
Wall Street took a beating Thursday, adding to its very bad week as the markets reacted to back-to-back earnings misses from Walmart and Target which revealed difficulties managing rising costs, as well as weaker-than-expected Chinese economic data.
On Friday morning, China's central bank announced it would lower its five-year loan prime rate -- a key interest rate governing how lenders base their mortgage rates -- from 4.6 percent to 4.45 percent.
The move will help reduce mortgage costs, serving as a boost for demand as China undergoes a property slump and its economy bleeds from stopped ports and factories due to Covid lockdowns.
It is "without doubt a positive in terms of raising the market's sentiment," Niu Chunbao, fund manager at Shanghai Wanji Asset Management, told Bloomberg.
Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore and Sydney all saw a sustained one percent boost, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng led the rally -- up by more than 3 percent in the afternoon.
A strong fiscal stimulus "is also expected" from the central government given persistent headwinds to growth, said Chaoping Zhu, a Shanghai-based global market strategist with JP Morgan Asset Management.
"In addition to the conventional approaches including infrastructure investment and tax deduction, direct subsidies or cash payout to consumers may be adopted to stabilize domestic demand and employment," he said.
Data released this week from China showed the extent of economic pain inflicted by Beijing's strict zero-Covid policy, with retail sales and factory production slumping to their lowest in over two years.
The unemployment rate also climbed in April to 6.1 percent -- the highest in more than two years.
- Recession fears -
Leading indices in recent weeks have see-sawed at even the slightest anticipation of volatility -- or relief -- and the risk of a global recession is "top-of-mind" for investors, said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
"But as the procession to recession shortens, growth concerns are rising, leaving equities vulnerable to the negative feedback loop," he added.
"What would typically be met with a shoulder shrug, incrementally weaker data can now amplify downside move. And with few positive developments of late, the market remains vulnerable to the prevailing narrative, with the negative feedback loop only growing louder in recent sessions."
Fuelling worries are sky-high inflation across the world. This week, Japan posted consumer price figures for April that were at a seven-year high, while Britain's inflation rocketed to a 40-year peak.
The US Federal Reserve -- where inflation figures are also at a four-decade high -- has tightened monetary policy, and Fed head Jerome Powell has said they would raise interest rates until there is "clear and convincing" evidence that inflation is in retreat.
"There was no single trigger for the negative sentiment prevailing in markets this week, but rather a build-up of concerning information," said Silvia Dall'Angelo, a senior economist at Federated Hermes Limited.
- Key figures at around 0720 GMT -
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 3.1 percent at 20,749.58
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.6 percent at 3,146.57 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 1.3 percent at 7,396.82
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.3 percent at 26,739.03 (close)
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $111.65 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $111.75 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0572 from $1.0586 at 2030 GMT Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2471 from $1.2473
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.77 pence from 84.84 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 127.96 yen from 127.80
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.8 percent at 31,253.13 (close)
-- Bloomberg News contributed to this story --
A.S.Diogo--PC