- Elon Musk says has no plans to acquire TikTok's US operations
- Ruud outlasts Munar to reach ATP Dallas Open final
- Injury cuts short Davis's dominant Dallas debut
- Russell, Fisher shine in wins at Millrose Games indoor meet
- Noh seizes LPGA Founders Cup lead as Korda, Khang charge
- Chelsea crash out of FA Cup at Brighton, Man City survive Orient scare
- Mbappe secures Real Madrid derby draw against Atletico
- Itoje glad as England answer Borthwick call for 'bravery' against France
- Alcaraz battles into Rotterdam final date with De Minaur
- Chiefs 'three-peat' would close gap on Patriots in 'dynasty' rankings
- Israel orders negotiators to Doha after fifth hostage-prisoner swap
- Man City survive Orient scare, Newcastle beat Birmingham
- New Zealand's Ravindra suffers sickening head injury in Pakistan ODI
- Daly late show helps England edge France in Six Nations thriller
- Sore ankle sidelines LeBron
- Baltics disconnect from Russian power grid without incident
- Gatland admits pressure of Wales record-breaking losing run
- Phillips and Santner lead New Zealand to 78-run win over Pakistan
- New anti-far-right protest draws 250,000 in Munich
- Sancet treble boosts Bilbao top four bid, Antony nets for Betis
- 'Mini dream come true' as Bencic wins first title since becoming mother
- Man City survive Orient scare as Saints crash out
- Italy hand sorry Wales another dismal defeat in Six Nations
- Leverkusen lose ground on Bayern with Wolfsburg stalemate
- PlayStation outages frustrate users around the world
- No room for complacency, says Irish captain Doris
- Israel putting Gaza ceasefire at risk of collapse: Hamas official to AFP
- Lula pushes mega-oil project as Brazil prepares to host COP30
- Bencic bounces back for first title since maternity break
- De Minaur cruises into Rotterdam final
- 'We are the future': European far right makes show of force
- African leaders call for 'immediate ceasefire' at DRC summit
- S. Africa condemns 'misinformation' after Trump freezes aid
- Snowboarder Ledecka's downhill bronze a nudge over 2026 Olympic schedule
- De Bruyne spares Man City blushes at Leyton Orient
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- There will always be critics, says Vonn after top-15 world downhill finish
- Phillips ton lifts New Zealand to 330-6 against Pakistan in tri-series
- Hamas, Israel complete fifth hostage-prisoner swap under Gaza deal
- Australia on brink of Sri Lanka Test series sweep
- Rwandan and Congolese leaders join summit on eastern DRC conflict
- Johnson wins shock world downhill gold, US teammate Vonn 15th
- Baltic nations disconnect from Russian power grid
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- Smith and Carey put Australia in command in Sri Lanka Test
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Stocks tumble on US rate hike uncertainty
Equity markets mostly retreated Thursday, with the sharpest losses in Asia, after Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell refused to be drawn on the pace of US interest rate hikes to battle decades-high inflation.
Although Powell on Wednesday firmed market expectations of a rate increase in March, investors were spooked by what happens thereafter.
His reluctance to give clear guidance on further tightening helped the dollar to reach a two-month high against the euro Thursday.
"Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell failed to stop the market rout with the central bank's latest policy update, with US stocks falling further after the announcement and the equity sell-off extending to most of Asia and Europe on Thursday," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
"It's what he didn't say that troubled investors. The key concerns are how aggressive the Fed will be with raising rates -- will they go up at every meeting this year, and will they go up by more than 0.25 percentage points each time?"
Fed officials still believe the price rises will be brought under control as economies reopen and supply chain problems abate, but the need to prevent them from running away is forcing them into an aggressive pivot.
The meeting "played out more hawkishly than we expected", said Steven Englander at Standard Chartered Bank.
"The (policy board) statement was largely as anticipated, but... Powell emphasised upside risks to inflation, pointing to a steady pace of policy withdrawal."
Powell's comments sent Wall Street sharply lower from their intra-day levels with tech firms, which are more susceptible to higher borrowing costs, taking the brunt.
Sharp Asian losses followed, particularly among tech stocks.
Seoul tanked more than three percent into a bear market -- a 20 percent drop from its recent high hit in August -- while Sydney fell into a correction, having given up 10 percent from its latest peak.
Tokyo took a 3.1-percent pounding as market heavyweights Sony and SoftBank -- which invests heavily in the tech sector -- led losses, while Hong Kong was two percent off.
Europe was mixed, with gains for London, Milan and Madrid, while Frankfurt and Paris fell in midday deals awaiting the Wall Street open.
- Oil below $90 -
Elsewhere, oil prices steadied, a day after benchmark European contract Brent North Sea briefly broke $90 per barrel for the first time in seven years owing to rising Ukraine-Russia tensions and falling US crude stockpiles.
Eyes are on the upcoming meeting of OPEC and other key producers, where they will discuss plans to continue to increase output.
"Energy traders are anticipating higher energy prices on potential geopolitical risks and as OPEC+ will stick to their plan to deliver another modest increase to production at next week's meeting," said OANDA's Edward Moya.
- Key figures around 1145 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 7,504.16 points
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,971.66
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 15,389.22
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.3 percent at 4,150.27
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 3.1 percent at 26,170.30 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.0 percent at 23,807.00 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.8 percent at 3,394.25 (close)
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 34,168.09 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1188 from $1.1238 late Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3403 from $1.3458
Euro/pound: UP at 83.47 pence from 83.45 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 115.18 yen from 114.64 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.2 percent at $88.89 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $87.39 per barrel
B.Shevchenko--BTB