- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ |
Oil prices, stocks higher after EU snubs Russia ban
Crude prices were higher Friday and stock markets made decent gains after European countries decided against a ban on Russian oil imports over its invasion of Ukraine -- but Germany said it would slash its energy purchases from Moscow.
European stocks, which had been firmly higher earlier in the session, ended the day with only modest gains, but on Wall Street the Dow and S&P 500 climbed out of a midday slump to both gain under one percent at the close.
"It seems the skyrocketing move higher with commodity prices has taken a break and that has allowed investors a chance to pile back into equities," said Edward Moya of OANDA.
"Geopolitical risks remain very elevated and the rally in equities over the past two weeks is impressive."
However, analysts say instability in the prices of commodities such as oil were keeping markets volatile, while investors will remain cautious over the economic impact of the war in Ukraine, now entering its second month.
"We're not really getting a lot of news out of the Russia-Ukraine situation," Tom Martin of Globalt Investments said.
"In two to three weeks, we're going to start getting earnings and... those are going to give us somewhat of a window on this new world we find ourselves in, post the Russian invasion of Ukraine."
The United States and European Union have announced a drive to wean Europe off Russian gas imports and so choke off the billions in revenues that are fueling Moscow's war.
Europe's biggest economy, Germany, said its own Russian oil imports would be halved by June and coal deliveries stopped by the autumn of this year.
"Anxieties about the increasingly entrenched conflict in Ukraine are" holding back share price gains, said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter.
Russia launched its assault on Ukraine on February 24, sending shockwaves across global markets that continue to reverberate.
The business climate in Germany worsened in March, the Ifo business confidence index showed, amid fears over soaring energy prices and deepening supply chain woes.
The crisis in eastern Europe has forced investors to reassess their outlook for the global economy owing to an expected surge in already soaring prices, which some commentators now warn could lead to recession.
Bitcoin rose above $45,000, boosted by talk that the Kremlin could accept the world's biggest cryptocurrency in exchange for Russian gas.
- Key figures around 2035 GMT -
Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.4 percent at $120.65 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.4 percent at $113.90 per barrel
New York - DOW: UP 0.4 percent at 34,861.24 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 4,543.06 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.2 percent at 14,169.29 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 7,483.35 points (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 14,305.76 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.03 percent at 6,553.68 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.1 percent at 3,867.73 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 28,149.84 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.5 percent at 21,404.88 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.2 percent at 3,212.24 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0981 from $1.0997 late Thursday
Pound/dollar: FLAT at $1.3187
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.25 pence from 83.39 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 122.17 yen from 122.35 yen
burs/spm/har/cs
O.Johnson--AMWN