- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- 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
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- 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
European stocks steady, oil extends losses
European stock markets steadied on Friday, the end of a highly volatile week for equities as traders focus on the Ukraine crisis and inflation pressures.
Asia's main equity markets closed lower after a steep drop on Wall Street Thursday fuelled by renewed fears that Russia would soon invade Ukraine, adding to long-running angst about the Federal Reserve's plans to hike interest rates.
While tensions in Eastern Europe continue to absorb most of the attention, oil prices extended losses as traders grow increasingly optimistic of a deal on Iran's nuclear programme that could see it restart crude exports.
"Reports of the US and Iran nearing a new nuclear deal couldn't have come at a better time and oil prices are slipping at the prospect of more than a million barrels of crude re-entering the market," noted Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA trading group.
"In the absence of a deal, we could already be talking about triple-figure oil prices."
Oil prices on Friday lost nearly two percent to stand around $90 per barrel.
As for equities, "markets continue to chop around on these Russia headlines", said Neil Wilson, analyst at Markets.com.
US President Joe Biden will hold talks with Western allies on Friday to discuss Ukraine as fears swirl Russia could be seeking to create a pretext to invade, European sources confirmed.
Sources said the talks would include the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, the European Union and NATO.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Washington was seeing "more" Russian forces moving into the Ukraine border region, despite Moscow's announcement of withdrawals.
The crisis over Ukraine comes as traders continue to contend with the prospect of US interest rates rising sharply this year as the Fed tries to rein in inflation at a 40-year high.
After spending most of last year saying surging prices would be transitory, the US central bank is now in full-on firefighting mode but commentators fear it may be behind the curve and will have to act more stringently than previously thought.
- Key figures around 1200 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 7,592.64 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.2 percent at 15,241.55
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 6,966.30
EURO STOXX 50: FLAT at 4,113.50
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 27,122.07 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.9 percent at 24,327.71 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,490.76 (close)
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.8 percent at 34,312.03 (close)
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.8 percent at $90.07 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.7 percent at $91.37 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1361 from $1.1366 late Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3616 from $1.3615
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.43 pence from 83.44 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 115.14 yen from 114.91 yen
L.Davis--AMWN