- 'Something was wrong', defendant in French mass rape tells court
- Hezbollah chief admits 'unprecedented' blow in device blasts
- Sales of US existing homes slip slightly in August
- Fear, panic haunt Lebanese after devices explode
- Labuschagne sparks Australia fightback in England ODI opener
- S.Africa's HIV research power couple says fight goes on
- Why is Israel focusing on border with Lebanon?
- Mpox vaccines administered in Rwanda, first in Africa
- US Fed rate cut is 'very positive sign' for economy: Yellen
- Unknown Mozart string trio discovered in Germany
- 'Are we five-year-olds?' F1 drivers won't mind their language
- Brazil judge orders X to reimpose block or face hefty fine
- Munich to rename stadium street after Beckenbauer
- Champions Italy to face Argentina in Davis Cup Final 8
- The winding, fitful path to weight loss drug Ozempic
- Italians defeat American Magic to reach Louis Vuitton Cup final
- Norris has 'nothing to lose' as he hunts Verstappen in Singapore
- Kyiv 'outraged' at Swiss showing of Russian war film
- French city renames Abbe Pierre square after abuse claims
- Footballer charged after huge cannabis seizure at UK airport
- Vatican recognises Medjugorje shrine, but not Virgin's messages
- Israel bombs Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon after wave of deadly blasts
- Bank of England freezes rate after jumbo US cut
- Playing Nadal is 'kind of a nightmare', says Alcaraz
- Portugal tackles last of deadly northern forest fires
- Ton-up Ashwin lifts India to 339-6 against Bangladesh
- Departing NATO chief warns US against 'isolationism'
- Coming winter 'sternest test yet' for Ukraine energy grid
- Evacuations as tail of Storm Boris floods northeast Italy
- Lebanon's Hezbollah reeling after second wave of deadly blasts
- Taiwan recognises same-sex marriages between Chinese, Taiwanese
- Stock markets rally after jumbo US rate cut
- Gabon's ousted leader Bongo says renouncing politics for good
- Lebanon device blasts: what we know about deadly attacks
- Equity markets rally after jumbo US rate cut
- Late Harrods owner Al-Fayed accused of rape: BBC
- Hong Kong man sentenced 14 months for wearing 'seditious' T-shirt
- Lebanon's Hezbollah in disarray after second wave of deadly blasts
- Equity markets, yen rally after jumbo US rate cut
- Meta and Spotify blast EU decisions on AI
- Hasan takes three as Bangladesh rattle India in first Test
- Two killed during police operation in New Caledonia
- Flood-hit region leaders to meet in Poland to discuss EU aid
- Sri Lanka to vote in first poll since economic collapse
- Hong Kong probe finds Cathay Airbus defect could cause 'extensive' damage
- AI development cannot be left to market whim, UN experts warn
- All Blacks primed for 'hell' of a Wallabies clash
- Japan firm says no longer makes radio reportedly used in Lebanon blasts
- Zoom fatigue? Try some nature in your background: study
- Boeing to start large-scale furloughs with Seattle strike talks stalled
RBGPF | 5.79% | 60.5 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.18% | 25.01 | $ | |
BCC | 3.81% | 142.495 | $ | |
BTI | -0.54% | 37.675 | $ | |
GSK | -1.03% | 41.996 | $ | |
SCS | -7.79% | 13.09 | $ | |
BP | 2.2% | 33.158 | $ | |
RYCEF | 5.48% | 6.93 | $ | |
NGG | -2% | 68.675 | $ | |
RIO | 3.8% | 65.395 | $ | |
JRI | -0.37% | 13.39 | $ | |
VOD | -1.74% | 10.055 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.4% | 25.08 | $ | |
BCE | -0.48% | 35.44 | $ | |
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AZN | 0.66% | 79.105 | $ |
Worries over aggressive Fed shift send US stocks tumbling
Wall Street equities tumbled on Thursday as markets bet that the latest inflation report would compel the Federal Reserve to accelerate efforts to tighten monetary policy and raise lending rates.
Consumer prices in the world's biggest economy rose at an annual rate not seen since February 1982, with a 7.5 percent increase over the 12 months to January, according to government figures.
US stocks opened decisively lower before recovering most of the losses by midday following a mixed session in Europe and an up day for Asian equity markets.
But Wall Street headed south again after St. Louis Fed President James Bullard told Bloomberg he would be open to hiking rates outside of regularly scheduled meetings, and would like to see them up to one percent by July.
Those remarks prompted investors to shift bets towards a bigger interest rate increase in March, and helped lift the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note above two percent.
All three major indices finished sharply lower, with the S&P 500 down 1.8 percent.
"Even though the market was already anticipating a series of rate hikes this year, the hawkish commentary raised concerns that the Fed's tightening plans could be more aggressive and sooner than expected because of persistent inflation pressures," said Briefing.com.
In Europe, London's FTSE 100 rose, Frankfurt's DAX edged higher, and in Paris the CAC 40 slipped.
The continent had its share of negative news, with the European Commission cutting the eurozone's economic growth forecast as energy prices and supply chain problems jack up inflation.
Elsewhere, signs of progress on the diplomatic front in eastern Europe have kept a cap on oil price gains in recent days, as has the possibility of a revived Iran nuclear deal, which could see Tehran resume worldwide petroleum exports and ease supply problems.
Among individual companies, Disney jumped 3.4 percent amid news it added far more subscribers than expected to its Disney+ streaming service in the just-finished quarter while reporting better-than-expected profits.
But Uber fell 6.1 percent as the ride-hailing company's medium-term profit forecast disappointed investors despite having reported solid fourth-quarter earnings.
- Key figures around 2100 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.5 percent at 35,241.59 (close)
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 1.8 percent at 4,504.08 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 2.1 percent at 14,185.6 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,672.40 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP less than 0.1 percent at 15,490.44 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,101.55 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2 percent at 4,197.07 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 27,696.08 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 24,924.35 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,485.91 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1434 from $1.1425 late Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3562 from $1.3535
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.25 pence from 84.41 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 115.99 yen from 115.52 yen
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $91.41 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $89.88 per barrel
burs-jmb/cs
M.Furrer--BTB