- 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
- 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
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
Worries over Ukraine invasion pummel US stocks, lift oil prices
Wall Street stocks tumbled and oil prices surged Friday as White House warnings of a possibly imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine reverberated through financial markets.
Markets lurched during a briefing by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who said a Russian invasion could "begin at any time," including during the Beijing Winter Olympics.
"If a Russian attack on Ukraine proceeds, it is likely to begin with aerial bombing and missile attacks that could obviously kill civilians," Sullivan said. "Any American in Ukraine should leave as soon as possible, and in any event in the next 24 to 48 hours."
Investors had become less worried about an imminent invasion of Ukraine in recent days following Western diplomacy with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But stocks tumbled after Sullivan's remarks, with the S&P 500 ultimately losing 1.9 percent.
Analysts said the sell-off was likely heightened by the timing just before the weekend, with investors shifting into a "risk-off" mode to reduce their exposure for the two days when there is no trading.
"The Russia-Ukraine tensions have hovered over already shaky investor sentiment," said John Lynch, chief investment officer for Comerica Wealth Management. "Investors have been counting on a diplomatic resolution, but recent developments indicate this may be wishful thinking and therefore, not fully priced into the markets."
Most industrial sectors finished lower on Wall Street following the midday White House announcement.
An exception was energy, with oil giants Chevron and ExxonMobil winning more than two percent as crude prices jumped on worries that stiff sanctions on Russia could prompt the country, a major crude and natural gas exporter, to curtail investment or weaponize their energy assets.
Shares of weapons makers also moved higher, including Lockheed Martin, which gained 2.8 percent and Northrop Grumman, which rose 4.5 percent.
Earlier in Europe, London equities slid after economic data pointed to a December slowdown amid the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
The UK economy grew by a record 7.5 percent last year to rebound from the pandemic crash, but shrank by a modest 0.2 percent in the final month, official data showed.
In the eurozone, Frankfurt and Paris stocks banked lower, mirroring Asia after overnight Wall Street losses.
- Key figures around 2150 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.4 percent at 34,738.06 (close)
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 1.9 percent at 4,418.64 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 2.8 percent at 13,791.15 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,661.02 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 15,425.12 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.3 percent at 7,011.60 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.0 percent at 4,153.23 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 24,906.66 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,462.95 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1351 from $1.1428 late Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3564 from $1.3557
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.64 pence from 84.29 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 115.48 yen from 116.01 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 3.3 percent at $94.44 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.6 percent at $93.10 per barrel
burs-jmb/dw
A.Rodriguezv--AMWN