- 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
- 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
Stocks jump, oil slides on easing Ukraine fears
US and European stock markets rebounded and oil prices tumbled Tuesday on easing fears of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russia raised hopes of a de-escalation of tensions with the West as it announced it was pulling back some of the troops deployed on Ukraine's border.
Western leaders applauded the statement, but called for verification. US President Joe Biden said that a Russian attack on Ukraine remains "very much" a possibility, but that a diplomatic solution to the crisis could yet be reached.
US and European equities moved unambiguously higher, with major Wall Street indices winning 1.2 percent or more after Paris and Frankfurt both added about two percent.
"While risks remain elevated, this looks like a big step in the right direction, and investors, like everyone else, are breathing a huge sigh of relief," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at foreign exchange broker OANDA.
The Russians "said they were going to pull troops back but nobody said they have actually seen them pulling troops back," said LBBW's Karl Haeling.
"But sometimes the market knows what's going on and the fact that crude oil sold off as much, people have the feeling beyond those official statements that they really aren't going to go in."
In addition to fears about a possible war in Eastern Europe, investors have been concerned about the US Federal Reserve possibly taking a more aggressive stance on interest rates to tame inflation.
But US stock markets shrugged off government data showing that the producer price index rose one percent, seasonally adjusted, in January -- twice what analysts had forecast.
"Many economists are hoping this is peak inflation and the economy will start to turn around soon, but reports have been consistently hotter each month since October," said TD Ameritrade chief market strategist JJ Kinahan.
The easing tensions over Ukraine also weighed on commodity prices.
Oil prices, which have shot to seven-year highs during the Ukraine crisis, tumbled as much as four percent in value. Russia is a major exporter of both oil and natural gas.
Wheat prices also cooled on Tuesday. Russia and Ukraine are major producers and exporters of the commodity.
In earlier Asian stock market trading, Tokyo retreated as investors brushed off data showing Japan's economy rebounded in the final three months of 2021.
There were losses also in Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Wellington, Taipei and Manila, but Shanghai, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta edged up.
- Key figures around 2050 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 1.2 percent at 34,988.84 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 1.6 percent at 4,471.07 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 2.5 percent at 14,139.76 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 1.0 percent at 7,608.92 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 2.0 percent at 15,412.71 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.9 percent at 6,979.97 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 2.0 percent at 4,143.71 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 26,865.19 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.8 percent at 24,355.71 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 3,446.09 (close)
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.6 percent at $92.07 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 3.3 percent at $93.28 per barrel
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1361 from $1.1307 late Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3541 from $1.3528
Euro/pound: UP at 83.88 pence from 83.58 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 115.62 yen from 115.54 yen
D.Moore--AMWN