- 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
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- 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
Stock markets rally, oil prices slide
Stock markets mostly rallied Friday after encouraging US retail sales data reassured investors about the health of the world's biggest economy.
The dollar dropped on expectations of looming cuts to US interest rates, while oil prices tumbled as weak Chinese demand expectations offset turmoil in the Middle East, according to traders.
London was a rare faller among stock markets as a strengthening pound weighed on multinationals earning in dollars.
"Riding the wave of a weaker yen, Japan's stocks led the charge... with the Nikkei 225 surging over three percent, setting the stage for its best week in four years," noted independent analyst Stephen Innes.
"This rally followed Wall Street's overnight gains, spurred by robust economic data that eased fears of a looming recession and hinted that the US economy might be on track for a soft landing."
Britain, meanwhile, enjoyed more strong economic data Friday, with news that retail sales rebounded in July. This followed figures this week showing solid economic growth and falling unemployment in the second quarter.
In Hong Kong on Friday, the Hang Seng index -- which has had the wind taken out of its sails over the past several months -- enjoyed a strong end to the week.
Despite a nearly 30-percent dip in quarterly profit reported on Thursday, Chinese tech giant Alibaba saw its stock soar in Hong Kong after it recorded gains in New York.
Alibaba runs some of China's most popular e-commerce apps and its performance is widely considered an indicator of broader economic trends.
Elsewhere on the corporate front, shares in German chemicals giant Bayer jumped 11.5 percent in early afternoon deals Friday after a US court victory in the group's long-running fight against claims its glyphosate-based weedkillers cause cancer.
An appeals court in Pennsylvania on Thursday rejected a claim by a landscaper that Bayer's Monsanto unit broke state laws by not putting a cancer warning on its Roundup weedkiller.
- Oil tumbles -
Oil prices slumped more than two percent, with Brent North Sea crude falling under $80 per barrel.
"The significant price recovery on the oil market has run out of steam in recent days," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.
"For one thing, the feared retaliatory strike by Iran (on Israel) has so far failed to materialise, which has probably favoured a partial pricing out of the risk premium. In addition, new demand concerns are weighing on the market."
Major oil producer Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel for last month's killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
- Key figures around 1100 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 8,314.09 points
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 7,442.27
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.6 percent at 18,297.95
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.6 percent at 4,836.42
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 3.6 percent at 38,062.67 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.9 percent at 17,430.16 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 2,879.43 (close)
New York - Dow: UP 1.4 percent at 40,563.06 points (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0996 from $1.0972 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2908 from $1.2853
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 148.37 yen from 149.06 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.26 pence from 85.36 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.5 percent at $76.23 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.2 percent at $79.31 per barrel
O.Karlsson--AMWN