- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
Stocks, oil prices push higher
Global stock markets and oil prices rose Friday following recent heavy losses on fears that interest rate hikes aimed at cooling decades-high inflation will spark a global recession.
London stocks rallied 1.7 percent with investors brushing aside news of bruising defeats for Britain's ruling Conservatives in by-elections on Thursday.
The pound firmed against the dollar and euro, despite data showing a drop in UK retail sales volumes as inflation soars.
Paris stocks jumped 2.2 percent in eurozone trade, while Frankfurt rose 0.9 percent with gains tempered by news of the worsening German business climate.
"Stock markets are taking a breather after being beat up... as recession fears took their toll," OANDA trading platform analyst Craig Erlam told AFP.
But he warned that stock markets remain "vulnerable to another onslaught if the news does not improve".
Asian stock markets closed higher after Thursday's gains on Wall Street.
Wall Street kept on rising at the opening bell on Friday, with the Dow adding 0.9 percent.
The recoveries come after global markets have been thrown into turmoil for months owing to soaring inflation, interest-rate hikes, the Ukraine war and China lockdowns.
Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell this week told lawmakers a recession was "certainly a possibility".
He suggested officials were ready to press on with big rate hikes, following last week's three-quarter point increase for US borrowing costs that sent markets tanking.
By contrast, the Bank of Japan is sitting tight over interest rate rises, even as the country's inflation stands at a seven-year high.
Sentiment in Asia has meanwhile been boosted by comments from Chinese President Xi Jinping suggesting an end to China's tech crackdown as well as possible new measures aimed at lifting the economy.
Hong Kong shares were among the biggest winners Friday thanks to a rally in tech giants including Alibaba, Tencent and NetEase.
Analysts have been pointing to falling commodity prices in the face of a possible recession means reduced need for sharp interest rate hikes as one possible reason for the rebound in sentiment for equities.
"Falling interest rates and falling commodity prices, which typically go hand-in-hand with a growth slowdown, have been held out as developments working in favor of the rebound effort," said Patrick O'Hare, analyst at Briefing.com.
"There is some truth to that, knowing that rising interest rates and rising commodity prices have been upsetting factors for most of the year, but one has to be careful stretching the credibility of those rally catalysts knowing that slower growth is going to translate into lower earnings growth prospects" for companies, he added.
- Key figures at around 1330 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 1.7 percent at 7,139.90 points
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.9 percent at 13,029.12
Paris - CAC 40: UP 2.2 percent at 6,013.21
EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.8 percent at 3,497.44
New York - Dow: UP 0.9 percent at 30,960.32
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 26,491.97 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.1 percent at 21,719.06 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.9 percent at 3,349.75 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0531 from $1.0523 late Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2278 from $1.2260
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.77 pence from 85.83 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 135.07 yen from 134.95 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.2 percent at $111.38 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.5 percent at $105.82 per barrel
burs-rl/lth
S.Pimentel--PC