- 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 rattled by US inflation surge
European and Asian stock markets fell Friday on fears the Federal Reserve will move more aggressively to tighten monetary policy to tame decades-high inflation.
Wall Street, which finished sharply lower Thursday on the inflation data, opened modestly higher as concerns about the Fed's possible response faded somewhat.
The 7.5-percent jump in US consumer prices last month was the fastest in 40 years and reinforced fears that the central bank is falling behind the curve in keeping it under control.
Sentiment was also hit by remarks from Fed official James Bullard, who said he wanted to see interest rates lifted one percentage point by the start of July.
The St Louis Fed boss said he was in favour of a 50 basis point lift next month -- double the usual rise and the first since 2000 -- and two more after that.
"I'd like to see 100 basis points in the bag by July 1," Bullard, who has a vote on policy this year, told Bloomberg News. "I was already more hawkish but I have pulled up dramatically what I think the committee should do."
He added: "I do not think it is shock and awe.
"I think it is a sensible response to a surprise inflationary shock that we got during 2021 that we did not expect."
Bullard also said he was open to a very rare announcement of rate hikes between meetings, which further rattled traders who fretted about a move before March, while calling for the quick reduction of the bank's bond holdings that have helped keep rates subdued.
US Treasury yields -- a guide to future borrowing costs -- have risen above two percent and analysts are predicting up to seven Fed rate hikes this year.
"The embers are still smoldering this morning, but a Bloomberg report that discusses some Fed members pushing back on the idea of a 50 basis points hike at the March meeting, or some type of inter-meeting rate hike, has poured some cold water on the rate-hike fire for now," said Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com
In Europe, London equities slid as investors set aside rebounding 2021 economic growth to focus on shrinking December activity in the wake of the Omicron Covid variant.
The UK economy grew by a record 7.5 percent last year to rebound from the pandemic crash, but shrank by a modest 0.2 percent in the final month, official data showed.
In the eurozone, Frankfurt and Paris stocks banked lower, mirroring Asia after overnight Wall Street losses.
Separately on Friday, the International Energy Agency ramped up its 2022 demand outlook to 100.6 million barrels of crude oil per day, an increase of 3.2 million, as governments further ease Covid restrictions.
"Oil prices are rallying once more as the IEA raised forecasts for demand this year and confirmed that OPEC+ missed its output targets again in January and by an even wider margin of 900,000 barrels," said Craig Erlam at trading platform OANDA.
- Key figures around 1430 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,626.33 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.2 percent at 15,463.56
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.9 percent at 7,037.59
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.7 percent at 4,168.92
New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 35,302.35
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 24,906.66 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,462.95 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1397 from $1.1428 late Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3573 from $1.3557
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.93 pence from 84.29 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 115.88 yen from 116.01 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.0 percent at $92.32 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.2 percent at $90.93 per barrel
burs-rl/lth
E.Ramalho--PC