- New York area port prepares for possible US strike disruption
- Rodri 'irreplaceable' but Guardiola confident Man City will still compete
- Brook 'relieved' as maiden ODI hundred sets up first win as England captain
- Dior's arrows and Amazons as Saint Laurent revives its master
- Mbappe strikes again as Madrid hold off Alaves
- Nkunku hits Chelsea hat-trick, Man City edge into League Cup last 16
- Amnesty calls for commission to probe Kenya protest deaths
- Bolivian government rejects Morales ultimatum for cabinet reshuffle
- US Congress calls on Novo Nordisk to lower drug prices
- Stock markets advance on China stimulus
- Russia 'can only be forced into peace," Zelensky tells UN
- Hundred hero Brook keeps England alive in Australia ODI series
- Biden pleads for democracy in final UN address
- Brook's hundred sees England beat Australia in 3rd ODI
- Alarm grows as Israel and Hezbollah exchange intense fire
- NFL legend Favre reveals Parkinson's diagnosis
- Biden urges world to 'stop arming generals' in Sudan
- Defying experts, Trump vows tariff-driven US economic boom
- Stokes open to England white-ball return
- No peak oil demand 'on the horizon', phaseout a 'fantasy': OPEC
- Sri Lanka's new leftist leader dissolves parliament, calls snap polls
- England scrum-half Mitchell to see specialist on neck injury
- Under-pressure Masood to lead Pakistan in England Tests
- Storm Helene on track to hit Florida as major hurricane
- IOC should reinstate Russia as soon it obeys rules: Samaranch
- Dior unleashes arrows and Amazons at Paris Fashion Week
- San Siro loses 2027 Champions League final due to uncertain future
- Canada's Trudeau faces no-confidence vote
- AI research uncovers 300 ancient etchings in Peru's Nazca desert
- Brazil's Lula calls Security Council makeup 'unacceptable'
- Alarm grows as Israel launches new 'extensive' strikes on Lebanon
- Carey blasts Australia to 304-7 against England in 3rd ODI
- Biden warns against clinging to power in UN farewell
- Alarm grows as Israel launches new strikes on Lebanon
- Biden warns at UN against 'full-scale war' over Lebanon
- 'Monumental step' as Thai king signs same-sex marriage into law
- French lake still riddled with bombs 80 years after World War II
- Alberta Ferretti quits as creative director at brand she founded
- Two killed in Mexico as Hurricane John weakens to tropical storm
- Multiple arrests after US woman uses machine-assisted suicide in Switzerland
- Dubois will next fight Joshua or Usyk, 'whoever pays me the most'
- Stock markets surge on China stimulus
- Lopetegui ready to learn from mistakes as Liverpool loom in League Cup
- US Fed dissenter warns inflation risks remain 'prominent'
- UN chief warns Lebanon on 'brink' as world leaders gather
- Surprise start for Libbok as Etzebeth set for Springboks record
- Ten Hag says expanded schedules make injuries 'almost unavoidable'
- Liverpool boss Slot praises Alexander-Arnold's defensive work
- Barca coach backs Pena but will debate new goalkeeper signing
- UN says tens of thousands flee Lebanon strikes
Asian markets sink as traders fret over global outlook
Asian markets were back in negative territory Wednesday following a rout on Wall Street as traders are faced with a perfect storm of crises including China's Covid-linked economic woes, US interest rate hikes, soaring inflation and the Ukraine war.
The downbeat mood across the world has been compounded by weak earnings from some of the world's biggest companies, while pledges of support from Beijing have largely fallen on deaf ears.
Tech firms, who rely on debt to drive growth, led a plunge in New York on fears that the Federal Reserve is at the beginning of a period of sharp rate increases aimed at taming scorching inflation.
The numerous issues around the world are acting as a massive drag on sentiment, with many worrying about the global economic outlook.
While about 80 percent of S&P 500 firms reporting so far have beat expectations, National Australia Bank's Ray Attrill said misses by high-profile names were taking the spotlight.
This came "amid deepening concerns that corporate earnings, however strong now, cannot usurp the stiffening (global) economic headwinds stemming primarily from the ongoing war in Ukraine and China’s Covid-zero policy".
China's Omicron crisis has seen officials lockdown Shanghai, the country's biggest city, while there are fears Beijing will soon follow as infections continue to rise there.
That has raised concerns about already strained supply chains and that a crucial driver of world growth is enduring a serious economic slowdown.
Asian markets tracked Wall Street down.
There was a minor bounce in early trade for Hong Kong and Shanghai following a report that Xi Jinping had committed to boosting infrastructure construction as a means of accelerating the economy.
The comments were the latest from China's top brass, who have made a series of promises in recent weeks to kickstart growth, but analysts said the key cause of worry for investors was the leaders' refusal to back away from their Covid strategy.
"The market is no longer responsive because there's no easing up of the negative in view right now," said Yang Ziyi, at Shenzhen Sinowise Investment.
"We just need to wait. We saw the same kind of numbness towards vocal support during the burst of the 2015 bubble and in 2018."
There were also losses in Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta.
And analysts said there was a lot of uncertainty on trading floors.
"We know that sentiment is in a terrible state right now," said Lori Calvasina, of RBC Capital Markets, on Bloomberg TV.
"This is a market that’s very, very confused. There's just a real lack of conviction in anything people want to buy at this moment in time."
Oil -- which has been under pressure in recent days owing to worries about Chinese demand -- extended Tuesday's bounce after Russia threatened to cut off gas to Bulgaria and Poland, with bets on further gains ahead.
Crude "is supported via the escalation of geopolitical tensions with Russia starting to cut off EU gas supplies. And this is just the beginning, so oil could remain supported as the EU pulls the plug on gas supplies in a domino effect across the continent", said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.
"And, of course, the offset is China lockdowns and everything that entails with the oil market desperately trying to skirt those recession storm clouds building on the horizon."
- Key figures at 0230 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.9 percent at 26,198.79 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.4 percent at 19,856.81
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 2,882.87
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.6 percent at $105.64 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $102.26 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0647 from $1.0636 late on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2586 from $1.2576
Euro/pound: UP at 84.59 pence from 84.55 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 127.55 yen from 127.21 yen
New York - Dow: DOWN 2.4 percent at 33,240.18 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,386.19 (close)
C.Kovalenko--BTB