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- New Zealand edge Australia 31-28 in Bledisloe Cup thriller
- Japan orders evacuations as heavy rains trigger floods in quake-hit area
- New Zealand pilot freed in Indonesia after 19 months in rebel captivity
- Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli air strike kills top commanders
- Leading climate activist released from Vietnam jail
- Ethiopians struggle with bitter pill of currency reform
- Sri Lanka votes in first poll since economic collapse
- Feminist author warns of abortion disaster if Trump wins US election
- US city of Flint still reeling from water crisis, 10 years on
- Arsenal's mean defence faces acid test to shut out Man City again
- Late surge lifts Thailand's Jeeno to LPGA Queen City lead
- DeChambeau says PGA's Ryder Cup decision 'just the start'
- Alcaraz defeated on Laver Cup debut
- Postecoglou embraces 'struggle' to make Spurs a success
- Nice hand 'ashamed' Saint-Etienne 8-0 Ligue 1 mauling
- Boeing CEO says ending strike 'a top priority'
- Stock markets mostly fall after Fed-fueled rally
- Harris slams Trump for hypocrisy on abortion as US starts voting
- Academy to host first overseas ceremony to honor young filmmakers
- No doctor necessary: US okays nasal spray flu vaccine for self-use
- Gurbaz, birthday boy Rashid lead Afghanistan to 177-run rout of South Africa
- Former delivery man Baldwin leads star names at PGA Championship
- Trump shooting: Secret Service admits complacency
- Can an ambitious Milei make Argentina an AI giant?
- Haiti, its suffering growing, in 'race against time': UN expert
- Ibrahim Aqil, the Hezbollah elite unit commander wanted by the US
- Chinese forward Cui signs NBA contract with Brooklyn Nets
- US Fed dissenter calls for 'measured' pace of rate cuts
- Guardiola tells players to lead change over workload as Kompany demands cap on games
- Norway limits wild salmon fishing as stocks hit new lows
- Top Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli strike on Beirut
- Rotterdam fatal knife attacker suspected of 'terrorist motive'
- First early votes cast in knife-edge US presidential election
- Top-ranked Swiatek out of Beijing due to 'personal matters'
- Hard-right Reform UK looks to the future after vote success
- Embiid agrees to NBA contract extension with 76ers
- Joshua aims to complete road to redemption in Dubois bout
- World champion Bagnaia sets pace with lap record at Misano
- Biden says 'working' to get people back to homes on Israel-Lebanon border
- Pope criticises Argentina's crackdown on protesters
- Court limits screenings of videos in France mass rape case
- Gurbaz century takes Afghanistan to 311-4 in 2nd ODI
- Central banks face 'difficult balancing act': IMF chief
- McLaren's Norris sets Singapore pace as struggling Verstappen 15th
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Stocks sink, gas and oil prices soar over Ukraine escalation fears
Global stock markets fell across the board Friday and energy prices soared as investors feared the risk of an escalation after Russia attacked the largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
Europe's main stock markets closed sharply lower, with Paris down 4.97 percent, its lowest since the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020.
Asian indices had earlier closed sharply lower and Wall Street saw drops of around one percent in mid-day trading -- tempered by a solid jobs report.
The euro sank close to a two-year low under $1.10 as the Ukraine conflict clouds the eurozone's economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
The greenback benefited also from its status as a haven investment.
"Investors have piled out of European stocks this week, accelerating a decline that began at the end of last month, and has accelerated over the last two days," said analyst Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.
"This morning’s reckless shelling of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant by Russian forces shows that (President Vladimir) Putin is becoming increasingly desperate to obtain a victory in the face of numerous setbacks," he said.
"These actions are a significant escalation and raise the question as to whether Putin could adopt a scorched earth policy in his attempts to crush Ukrainian resistance," Hewson added.
European and UK gas prices surged to record peaks Friday on supply disruption fears as a result of key supplier Russia's ongoing attack on Ukraine.
Europe's reference Dutch TTF gas price struck 213.895 euros per megawatt hour in afternoon deals, while UK gas prices hit 508.80 pence per therm.
Oil prices shot up again around 3.5 percent on fears of supply disruptions to Russian crude but were well below the almost $120 per barrel reached Thursday.
- 'Markets ill prepared' -
Hopes for an Iran nuclear deal that would allow Tehran to restart crude exports to the world market capped crude's gains, analysts said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has meanwhile demanded still tougher sanctions against his Moscow foes after Russian forces attacked and seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, but Kyiv said no radiation leak was detected.
Western countries have hit Russia's economy hard including by closing airspace, freezing assets and excluding seven banks from the SWIFT interbank messaging network.
The impact is already impeding Moscow's ability to shore up the beleaguered ruble and purchase imports.
Russia's invasion of its neighbour Ukraine has sent global stock markets slumping over the week, during which time commodities including wheat, metals and particularly oil have soared.
That has fuelled concerns that the global economic recovery from Covid-19 will be derailed, especially with surging prices adding to worries about decades-high inflation.
To combat rocketing costs, Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell this week said he intends to raise US interest rates this month, though he tempered expectations of a half-point rise.
"Markets are ill-prepared for a conflict with all its unknowable consequences," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
He said this is especially the case "when combined with surging oil prices and rising inflation, mixed in with central banks who are not displaying any of the dovishness needed to rescue sentiment."
In New York, the Dow, S&P and the Nasdaq all fell in mid-day trading as worries about the worsening picture of the Russia-Ukraine conflict overshadowed a strong US jobs report.
US employers added 678,000 workers to their payrolls in February, driving the unemployment rate down to 3.8 percent in a monthly report that was better than expected.
- Key figures around 1650 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 3.2 percent at 7,006.99 points (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 4.4 percent at 13,094.54 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 4.97 percent at 6,061.66 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 4.96 percent at 3,556.01
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.2 percent at 33,382.42
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.2 percent at 25,985.47 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.5 percent at 21,905.29 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.0 percent at 3,447.65 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0917 from $1.1069 late Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3126 from $1.3350
Euro/pound: DOWN 82.60 pence from 82.89 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 114.69 yen from 115.45 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 3.4 percent at $114.24 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.6 percent at $111.57 per barrel
burs-lc/kjm
F.Pavlenko--BTB