- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
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- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
Asian markets dip as traders eye Ukraine, Fed eases rate fears
Asian markets mostly dipped Thursday as investors assess the situation in Ukraine after the West said Russia had not started withdrawing troops from its border, while minutes from the Federal Reserve's January meeting eased concerns it was set to hike rates sharply.
Meanwhile, oil prices tumbled more than two percent on further signs of a breakthrough in Iran nuclear talks.
Global equities were sent plunging and crude surged after a top US official said Russia could invade Ukraine imminently, but Moscow appeared to soothe those fears Tuesday by saying it had started withdrawing some soldiers.
The announcement and an apparently more conciliatory tone from the Kremlin provided a much-needed lift to markets.
However, while the general mood on trading floors was upbeat that tensions had eased, Washington dismissed the Russian claims and accused it of sending more soldiers, adding there were "indications they could launch a false pretext at any moment to justify an invasion".
That came after NATO joined Ukraine in saying there was no sign of any retreat, while chief Jens Stoltenberg said tensions in the east with Russia were "the new normal in Europe".
The geopolitical uncertainty jolted US markets Wednesday, though they enjoyed a late rally from intraday lows after the Fed minutes provided no surprises.
The release had been keenly awaited as the bank tries to walk a fine line of reining in four-decade-high inflation while not knocking the healthy economic recovery off track.
Expectations are for officials to hike interest rates in March and then several times again before the end of the year, but there has been much debate about how big its initial move will be and how many more there will be.
It has also said it will start to offload the bonds it has on its balance sheet, which are also helping to keep borrowing costs down.
Some have warned of a 50-basis-point hike at first -- twice what it usually announces -- and as many as six or seven more before January.
"The Fed's Minutes showed interest rate hikes are coming and that they are readying for a significant reduction in the size of the balance sheet," said OANDA's Edward Moya.
"Investors that were worried that the Fed would be pressured to begin the balance sheet runoff fairly soon could breathe a sigh of relief.
"The Fed sees inflation pressures broadening deep into the year but they would not be rushed into making any decisions at a faster tightening pace."
National Australia Bank's Ray Attrill added the minutes did not "appear to give an obvious succour to the idea of the Fed kicking off the tightening cycle with a 50-point move".
And Minneapolis Fed boss Neel Kashkari said aggressive rate hikes would risk a recession, adding the bank should "not overdo it".
By the afternoon, Hong Kong was down slightly, while Tokyo and Shanghai both closed with marginal losses.
Sydney, Seoul and Taipei were all slightly up, while Jakarta posted small losses.
Wellington was up by more than one percent.
On oil markets both main contracts tanked on growing hopes that talks on the Iran nuclear deal could soon bear fruit.
Tehran's top negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani said an agreement was "closer than ever" and while Washington and Paris were a little more circumspect, the comments raised the possibility that Iranian crude could return to the market soon.
"Positive developments in the US-Iran nuclear negotiations are helping to calm oil prices," Claudio Galimberti of Rystad Energy said.
"Although not a done deal yet, prices are sliding on news of progress and broad consensus in the talks as it could ultimately see up to 900,000 barrels a day of crude added to the market by December this year."
The developments offset uncertainty over the Russia-Ukraine crisis, which had helped propel prices towards $100 for the first time in more than seven years, and comes as demand continues to improve as the world economy reopens.
Data showed US stockpiles at their lowest since 2018.
- Key figures around 0710 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.83 percent at 27,232.87 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.11 percent at 24,692.16
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.06 percent at 3,468.04 (close)
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.4 percent at $92.35 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.43 percent at $93.45 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1365 from $1.1381
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3596 from $1.3589
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.60 pence from 83.75 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 115.29 yen from 115.49 yen
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 34,934.27 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 7,603.78 (close)
Y.Aukaiv--AMWN