- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- 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
Asian, European markets track Wall St rout as pound falls further
Asian and European equities tumbled Friday following a rout on Wall Street fuelled by worries over rising interest rates and surging inflation, while the pound extended losses the day after taking a beating on fears of a UK recession.
Global markets have been battered this year by a series of crises including surging inflation, rising interest rates, China's economic slowdown and the war in Ukraine.
There was some relief after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday lifted borrowing costs 50 basis points -- the most since 2000 -- but suggested a feared 75-point lift was not on the agenda for now.
However, US traders ran for the hills Thursday as they contemplated a period of fierce monetary tightening by the US central bank as it struggles to contain inflation running at a more than 40-year high.
The Nasdaq -- dominated by tech firms particularly sensitive to higher rates -- lost five percent, while the Dow and S&P 500 fell more than three percent.
"Valuations become even more sensitive, very sensitive, when rates are going up and that is what we are experiencing," Kristina Hooper, at Invesco, told Bloomberg Television.
"It's just getting exacerbated as we get into the thick of monetary-policy tightening in the US."
That sell-off filtered through to Asia, where Hong Kong tanked more than three percent as tech firms took a hit. Meanwhile, the European Chamber of Commerce in the city called the finance hub's stringent pandemic travel restrictions and frequent flight bans a "nightmare" for businesses.
The remarks come a week after the Australian Chamber of Commerce recommended that Hong Kong follow the lead of Singapore or Japan by lowering quarantine requirements for business travellers.
Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Mumbai, Bangkok, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei and Manila also tanked. London, Paris and Frankfurt fell at the open.
However, Tokyo closed higher Friday on bargain-hunting, though gains were limited as investors remained cautious ahead of the release of US jobs data later in the day.
Adding to the angst was ongoing weakness in China's economy caused by strict lockdowns and other containment measures as officials struggle to bring a virus flare-up under control by sticking to a zero-Covid policy.
Various districts in Beijing told residents on Thursday to work from home, while Shanghai, the biggest city in the country, remains essentially shut down.
- China's policy 'a drag' -
Analysts at Nomura on Friday predicted that mass testing mandates alone could cost up to 2.3 percent of annual gross domestic product, while Fitch Ratings cut its forecast for China's full-year economic growth to 4.3 percent from 4.8 percent.
Despite the predicted bloodletting, China's top brass have continued to pledge to "unwaveringly adhere" to zero-Covid and "fight against" criticism of the policy.
"The zero-Covid policy is likely to remain a drag on domestic demand for the foreseeable future," said senior economist Silvia Dall'Angelo of Federated Hermes Limited.
"China also faces headwinds coming from high commodity prices, the war in Ukraine and the potential for secondary sanctions, and a possible sharp slowdown in Europe."
On currency markets the pound continued to struggle a day after plunging more than two percent in reaction to the Bank of England's updated forecast that warned annual inflation would top 10 percent and the economy would contract later this year.
Crude rose after key oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia refused to lift output more than their planned marginal increase as they weighed tight supply concerns caused by the Ukraine war.
"The prospect of EU sanctions on Russian oil threatens to make an already-tight situation worse," Howie Lee, at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, said.
"With OPEC+ not hitting their monthly quotas as well, the supply shortage issue appears to overshadow the demand loss from China."
- Key figures at around 0720 GMT -
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 3.6 percent at 20,037.72
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 2.2 percent at 3,001.56 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,489.97
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 27,003.56 (close)
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $109.01 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.7 percent at $111.66 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0495 from $1.0540 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2300 from $1.2353
Euro/pound: UP at 85.33 pence from 84.13 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 130.43 yen from 129.23 yen
New York - Dow: UP 2.8 percent at 34,061.06 (close)
Nogueira--PC