- 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
- 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
Stocks nervous even after Russia sees 'chance' in Ukraine crisis
Stock markets attempted to claw back some of their earlier losses on Monday after Russia suggested there might be a "chance" of reaching an agreement with the West over Ukraine.
But prospects of the US Federal Reserve raising interest rates more aggressively than anticipated prevented markets from recouping even more lost ground.
On Wall Street, stock prices were mixed after intially opening flat, and European markets -- which had tumbled sharply earlier in the session -- came off their lows, but remained firmly in the red.
"Stock markets are getting pummelled... as investors prepare for a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine this week," said OANDA analyst, Craig Erlam.
"Reports since Friday suggest an invasion has gone from being a risk to highly likely and the late sell-off in the US followed by today's plunge reflects that."
Nevertheless, the markets experienced some momentary relief from comments by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who told President Vladimir Putin that there was a "chance" of reaching an agreement on security with the West.
"The tone changed suddenly... following a headline that Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said there is a chance for agreement on security issues," said Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com.
"The fact that the door has not been shut to further talks... is a good thing," O'Hare said.
"Hence, the negativity seen earlier has dissipated some, yet there is still a major cloud of uncertainty hanging over the market."
Lavrov's comments "eased investor nerves over an 'imminent' invasion of Ukraine by Russia, something which Kremlin has continually denied," said ThinkMarkets analyst, Fawad Razaqzada.
Nevertheless, looking beyond the Ukraine crisis, inflation remained very much an "elephant in the room" for financial markets, the analyst cautioned.
"It is all about how central banks are going to address surging inflationary pressures around the world, not least the Federal Reserve."
Comments by a top US Federal Reserve official, suggesting the central bank needed to accelerate the pace of interest rate increases to fight inflation, threatened to dampen some of the nascent optimism.
"Our credibility is on the line here," St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on CNBC.
After consumer prices saw their biggest jump in 40 years in January, he said the Fed should "front load" rate increases to rise by a full point by July.
- $100 oil? -
The Ukraine crisis is also being closely watched by the oil markets, amid a pick-up in crude demand as economies reopen after the coronavirus pandemic and people return to a more normal life.
Earlier in Asia, Brent had climbed as high as $96.16 and WTI crude to $94.94 per barrel, stoking renewed concern over elevated inflation.
But later in the session, prices had come back down again as investors took profit.
Europe has for months already suffered from soaring natural gas prices, which have fuelled rocketing domestic energy prices and sparked decades-high inflation.
"In the event of a Russia-Ukraine escalation we could be seeing a significant increase in domestic energy prices since much of Europe is heavily reliant on Russian oil and gas supplies," said XTB analyst Walid Koudmani.
- Key figures around 1640 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 34,555.29 points
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.7 percent at 7,531.59 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 2.0 percent at 15,113.97(close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 2.3 percent at 6,852.20 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 2.2 percent at 4,064.45
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.2 percent at 27,079.59 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 24,556.57 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.0 percent at 3,428.88 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.4 percent at $94.84 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $93.74 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1309 from $1.1350 late Friday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3515 from $1.3564
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.67 pence from 83.68 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 115.69 yen from 115.42 yen
burs-spm/kjm
S.Gregor--AMWN