- PSG drop first points in draw at Reims
- Vinicius, Mbappe on target as Madrid crush plucky Espanyol
- Jeeno leads Ko by two at LPGA Queen City Championship
- Bottega Veneta goes for 'E.T.' chic as Madonna pops into D&G
- Messi, Miami frustrated by New York late leveler
- Musk's X platform takes first step toward lifting Brazil ban
- 'Business as usual' for Australia match-winner Carey amid boos
- Israeli jets pound Lebanon after deadly Beirut strike
- Ten Hag bemoans Man Utd's lack of killer instinct in Palace stalemate
- France's Macron appoints new government in shift to right
- Cheika proud of Leicester grit after winning start as boss
- Profligate Man Utd pay price in 0-0 draw at Palace
- Kane, Olise run riot as Bayern thump Bremen
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Man Utd held at Palace
- LIV champion Rahm out of LIV Team semis with severe flu
- Slot surprised by tearful Nunez's moment of magic
- Title rivals Norris, Verstappen on 'cool' front row for Singapore GP
- Biden talks China with 'Quad' leaders in hometown summit
- Juve and Napoli play out goalless draw in early Serie A title tussle
- Alcaraz fears tennis tour grind will 'kill us'
- Carey sparks recovery as Australia thrash England in 2nd ODI
- Leclerc, Sainz lament 'disappointing' Saturday in Singapore
- Bottega Veneta holds investors' aces as Madonna pops into D&G
- Beirut digs for victims at building flattened in Israeli strike
- Verstappen stages protest over 'ridiculous' swearing punishment
- Bayern boss Kompany lauds 'special talent' Olise
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Spurs bounce back
- Heavy fire over Israel-Lebanon border after deadly Beirut strike
- Ramos guides unbeaten Toulouse to Montpellier win despite Hogg scuffle
- Myanmar flood death toll jumps to 384
- Chelsea owners 'happy' with win at West Ham amid rift report
- Kane and Olise run riot as Bayern thump Bremen
- Ramos guides unbeaten Toulouse to Montpellier win
- Norris pips Verstappen to dramatic Singapore pole after Sainz crash
- Carey takes Australia to 270 in 2nd ODI against England after collapse
- Two Hezbollah leaders killed in Israel's Beirut strike
- Hungary Danube waters reach decade high after Storm Boris
- Bagnaia cuts Martin's MotoGP lead with Emilia-Romagna sprint win
- Jackson double fires Chelsea to victory at woeful West Ham
- Fiji beat Japan to lift Pacific Nations Cup
- Kasatkina to face Haddad Maia in Korea Open final
- S.Africa snowfall closes roads, strands motorists overnight
- Lawyers of women alleging Al-Fayed sex abuse receive over 150 new enquiries
- President Museveni's son backs Ugandan strongman for 7th term
- Norris quickest as Verstappen bounces back in Singapore practice
- Wallabies lament All Blacks' fast start
- Germany's Oktoberfest opens under tight security after attacks
- Environmental protesters block French cruise liner port
- Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli strike kills top commanders
- No place like home: Biden hosts 'Quad' leaders
Stocks rebound, oil falls in volatile trading
US and European stocks surged on Wednesday while oil fell after days of market turmoil over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Wall Street opened sharply higher, with the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq above two percent.
In Europe, Frankfurt's benchmark DAX index soared by more than six percent and the Paris CAC 40 jumped more than five percent in afternoon trading.
London's FTSE 100 was up more than two percent, despite losses earlier in Asia.
"European markets rebound as investors fish for bargains," summarised Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Other analysts said investors were hopeful that a diplomatic solution could be found in the conflict in Ukraine.
"Given the state of things in the world, one can easily extrapolate from these indications that market participants are feeling better about the Russia-Ukraine situation," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
"Market participants should know by now, of course, that talk from Russia is cheap," O'Hare said.
OANDA analyst Craig Erlam told AFP the surge in European stocks is likey a "dead cat bounce" -- a market term referring to a rebound that briefly interrupts a prolonged downturn.
"We appear to be seeing a temporary corrective move," Erlam said, predicting the rebound would not last as Russia continues to wage war on Ukraine.
"The invasion is still happening, sanctions are still being imposed and oil prices are still high," he noted.
"None of that is conducive with a sustainable stock market recovery."
Major Asian markets declined Wednesday as investors dwelled on Washington's Russian oil and gas ban.
EU nations, which receive roughly 40 percent of their gas imports and one quarter of their oil from Russia, opted to set a goal of cutting their Russian gas imports by two-thirds.
Brent crude fell five percent to around $121 per barrel, still a high figure one day after the United States and Britain moved to ban imports of Russian crude as part of Western sanctions on Moscow.
- $240 oil? -
Brent had spiked to $139 on Monday -- about $8 short of an all-time record -- in expectation of the US embargo.
European natural gas prices languished far below this week's record peak, despite fears over the region's reliance on Russian gas.
Europe gas reference Dutch TTF slid 28 percent to 154.53 euros per megawatt hour, having leapt at the start of this week to an all-time high at 345 euros.
Oil prices could rocket further if more nations slap sanctions on Russian crude, according to Bjornar Tonhaugen, head of oil markets at Rystad Energy.
"Oil prices could hit $240 per barrel this summer in the worst-case scenario if Western countries roll out sanctions on Russia's oil exports en masse," Tonhaugen said.
"Market volatility is at an all-time high, with ... the expectation that supply will further tighten due to restrictive sanctions on Russian energy from the West."
The crisis has also fuelled fears that the fragile global recovery from Covid-19 will be replaced by a period of stagflation, in which inflation surges and economies flatline or contract.
Haven investment gold declined Wednesday, one day after hitting a near-record $2,070 per ounce -- the highest since August 2020.
- Key figures around 1440 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 1.9 percent at 33,264.40 points
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 6.1 percent at 13,608.30
Paris - CAC 40: UP 5.6 percent at 6,298.69
London - FTSE 100: UP 2.2 percent at 7,117.80
EURO STOXX 50: UP 5.8 percent at 3,708.75
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 24,717.53 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.7 percent at 20,627.71 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.1 percent at 3,256.39 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 5.0 percent at $121.62 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 4.8 percent at $117.76
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1041 from $1.0899 Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3173 from $1.3104
Euro/pound: UP at 83.79 pence from 83.18 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 115.72 yen from 115.67 yen
burs-rfj-lth/rl
J.Bergmann--BTB