- The struggle to keep track of Gaza war deaths
- China cuts another key interest rate to boost economy
- Restarting nuclear power plants: the unprecedented gamble in the US
- US state executes man despite conviction doubts
- Asylum seeker lifts South Korea hopes at Homeless World Cup
- Hostages freed in Gaza truce pine for those left behind
- Pope offers refuge to Myanmar's jailed Suu Kyi: report
- Tragic tale of two West Bank teenagers freed in Gaza truce
- US intel warns of Iran threats to assassinate Trump: campaign
- In election, Hollywood is about cash not endorsements
- UK foreign minister Lammy seeks 'strongest position' for Ukraine
- Macron presses Iran president for Lebanon de-escalation
- UNRWA fears new 'tragedy' as Lebanon violence adds strain: chief to AFP
- Russia mulls ban on 'childless propaganda'
- Blackwater founder probed by Venezuela over anti-Maduro campaign
- Crypto CEO and Bankman-Fried ex Caroline Ellison gets two-year sentence
- Hezbollah announces death of commander after strike on south Beirut
- Tatum hungry for more after breakthrough Celtics success
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs sued for alleged 2001 rape
- Biden pleads for democracy in emotional UN farewell
- 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'
Markets waver, oil falls on weak Chinese data, looming US rate hike
Stock markets diverged and oil prices fell on Monday as traders tracked weak Chinese economic data and a looming US interest rate hike that could tame inflation but also thwart growth.
Equities kicked off the month of May on the wrong foot after Wall Street finished a tough April by closing sharply down on Friday following disappointing results from tech giant Amazon.
"The markets remain skittish regarding an expected aggressive Fed monetary policy tightening cycle as the Central Bank is set to hike rates this week," said analysts at Charles Schwab investment firm.
"Moreover, global sentiment continues to be hampered by the ongoing war in Ukraine, the recent spike in interest rates, the rallying US dollar, and slowing economic activity in China," they said.
Wall Street seesawed in early deals.
Eurozone markets were down sharply in afternoon trading, with Paris almost two percent lower and Frankfurt tumbling 1.3 percent. London was closed for a bank holiday.
Tokyo, Seoul, Mumbai, Manila, Sydney and Wellington all finished lower. Hong Kong and mainland Chinese markets were closed along with several other Asian markets.
Data at the weekend showed Chinese manufacturing activity shrank last month at its fastest pace since the start of the pandemic as the government applies Covid-19 lockdowns in the biggest cities of the world's second biggest economy.
While economic hub Shanghai remains locked down, Beijing has tightened virus controls in the capital, requiring clear Covid tests to visit public spaces.
This followed gloomy economic data in Europe on Friday showing that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was weighing on growth.
The struggles in China, the world's biggest crude importer, led to a drop in prices of the commodity on demand concerns, offsetting worries about tighter supply as the EU eyes a ban on Russian oil over its invasion of Ukraine.
Oil prices fell more than three percent, with Brent North Sea crude, the benchmark international contract, falling to $103.71.
The European Commission is preparing a sanctions text that could be put to the 27 member states as early as Wednesday, sources said, adding that the ban would be introduced over six to eight months to give countries time to diversify their supply.
- Rate hike looms large -
Investors are also looking ahead at the US Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, which starts Tuesday and is expected to see the central bank hike borrowing costs by half a point -- the most since 2000 -- to tame soaring consumer prices.
Some analysts are predicting the Fed could even announce a three-quarter-point increase at some point as it battles more than 40-year-high inflation.
With some commentators warning rates could go as high as three percent, there are also worries the Fed could be too heavy handed and tip the US economy into recession.
"The Fed must make up for lost time and act quick and strongly as it faces inflation which keeps surprising as it rises," said Franck Dixmier, head of fixed income at Allianz Global Investors.
"The challenge in executing the normalisation of its monetaryt policy is to ensure a soft landing of the US economy ... while maintaining a dynamic labour market and above all avoiding triggering a recession," he said.
- Key figures at around 1400 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 33,045.26 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.8 percent at 13,987.69
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.5 percent at 6,438.19
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.6 percent at 3,743.16
London - FTSE 100: Closed for a holiday
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 26,818.53 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: Closed for a holiday
Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0530 from $1.0550 on Friday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2545 from $1.2578
Euro/pound: UP at 83.91 pence from 83.86 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 130.03 yen from 129.89 yen
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.5 percent at $101.04 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 3.2 percent at $103.71 per barrel
J.Bergmann--BTB