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- China the top challenge in US history: senior diplomat
- Hong Kong democracy tycoon's son warns time running out
- New migraine drugs no better than cheap painkillers: big study
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs again denied bail in sex trafficking case
- Brewers clinch division title as MLB playoff race heats up
- Man City blunted by 'giant' Inter in Champions League stalemate
- US stocks dip despite larger Fed interest rate cut
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- All Blacks recall Beauden Barrett for Australia Test
- Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill 20, wound 450
- Spurs late show saves Postecoglou blushes at Coventry
- PSG snatch late goal to beat Champions League debutants Girona
- Gittens' late double gives Dortmund Champions League win at Brugge
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- Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to new sex crime charge
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- Ukraine official claims Russian advance in Kursk has been 'stopped'
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- Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill 14, wound 450
- US Fed makes aggressive rate cut, weeks before election
- Arsenal's Odegaard faces lengthy injury absence
- India coal expansion risks massive methane growth: report
- China the top challenge in US history, top diplomat says
- US Fed makes larger half-point cut in first reduction since 2020
- Ronaldo's Al Nassr appoint former AC Milan boss Pioli
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- Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill nine, wound 300
- 'Emergency' declared over falling UK butterfly numbers
- McIlroy outlines threats to golf peace deal
- Stock markets, dollar slip before US rate decision
- Russian advance in Kursk 'stopped': Ukraine official to AFP
- UN members demand end to 'unlawful' Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories
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- Three dead, 100 wounded in new wave of Lebanon device explosions
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European stocks slump at end of volatile week for markets
European stock markets tumbled Friday nearing the end of a highly volatile trading week worldwide as investors assessed the economy's recovery outlook faced with soaring inflation, rising interest rates and mixed earnings.
The week's trading has been dominated by Federal Reserve policy as the US central bank seeks to battle decades-high inflation by embarking on a series of interest rate hikes that could derail strong growth rebounds following pandemic lockdowns.
By contrast, the European Central Bank is sitting tight, putting pressure on the euro which Friday struck a 19-month low versus the dollar.
Rising tensions between Russia and the West over the Ukraine crisis are adding to the fractious mood on trading floors, where a selling frenzy this month wiped around $7 trillion off valuations around the world.
"Downbeat mood rounds up a volatile week for markets," said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.
"After an indiscriminate tech rout in recent weeks amid concerns about rising rates from the Fed, earnings season is helping to separate the wheat from the chaff with companies like Apple and Microsoft... managing to buck the broader weakness."
Apple on Thursday reported record quarterly revenue of $124 billion despite a global chip pinch and shifting impacts of the pandemic that have weighed down other big tech players.
Traders were also digesting growth data out of Europe's biggest economies.
The German economy ended 2021 on a downward note, shrinking by 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter as bottlenecks and coronavirus restrictions took their toll, official figures showed.
Last year Germany's economy grew by 2.8 percent, Friday's data added, far slower than its neighbour France, which expanded seven percent in 2021.
While stock markets have rallied for the best part of two years to record or multi-year highs, analysts said a hefty pullback is to be expected, owing to profit-taking and the removal of massive pandemic-era stimulus by central banks and governments.
- Oil gains -
Crude oil prices remained well supported after a strong trading week, aided by the Ukraine-Russia crisis.
"Russia's supply of natural gas to Western Europe could further spark volatility across financial markets, and as we turn the corner on the pandemic we now see a possible conflict as one of the biggest threats to markets in 2022," predicted Federated Hermes analyst Lewis Grant.
On Wall Street, all three main indices ended Thursday in the red, with the Nasdaq leading the way again as tech firms are more susceptible to higher borrowing costs.
- Key figures around 1145 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.1 percent at 7,467.90 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.9 percent at 15,225.52
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.6 percent at 6,909.83
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.9 percent at 4,105.33
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.1 percent at 26,717.34 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 23,550.08 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.0 percent at 3,361.44 (close)
New York - Dow: FLAT at 34,160.78 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1132 from $1.1147 late Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3387 from $1.3381
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.15 pence from 83.27 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 115.59 yen from 115.36 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.6 percent at $88.70 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $87.22 per barrel
F.Pavlenko--BTB