- Stewart leads Liberty past Lynx to level WNBA Finals
- England return to winning ways in Nations League, Austria thrash Norway
- UN chief says attacks on UNIFIL 'may constitute a war crime'
- Ravens outlast Commanders while Bucs batter Saints in NFL
- Dozens hurt in Israel as Hezbollah claims drone strike
- England deserve 'world class' coach: Carsley
- Burkina Faso win to become first qualifiers for 2025 AFCON
- AC Milan's Pulisic among five out for USA match in Mexico
- France's Amandine Henry retires from international football
- Centre-left set to win pro-Ukraine Lithuania's vote
- India's World Cup hopes in Pakistan hands after Australia defeat
- Zelensky says NKorea sending troops to Russian army
- England beat Finland to get back on track
- King and Lewis propel West Indies to T20 triumph over Sri Lanka
- Pre-Halloween 'Terrifier' lands atop North America box office
- 'I still plan to compete and play next season,' says Djokovic
- Harris, Trump seek advantage in knife-edge election battle
- Chepngetich shatters women's marathon world record in Chicago
- Kamindu and Asalanka power Sri Lanka to 179 against West Indies
- Chepngetich shatters women's marathon world record as Korir wins in Chicago
- Spain send injured Yamal home 'to prioritise player's health'
- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Iraq walks fine line with pro-Iran factions to avoid war
- Race four abandoned after New Zealand breeze into 3-0 lead in America's Cup
- West Indies win toss, put Sri Lanka in to bat in first T20
- Sudan rescuers say air strike killed 23 in Khartoum market
- Netanyahu tells UN to move Lebanon peacekeepers out of 'harm's way'
- Bangladeshi Hindus defy attack worries to celebrate festival
- Kiwis three up in America's Cup as Ineos pay for time penalty
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Dominant England crush Scotland at Women's T20 World Cup
- Dropped: The rise and fall of Pakistan batting maestro Babar Azam
- Israel fights Hezbollah on the ground, pounds Lebanon from the air
- Sabalenka outlasts local hero Zheng to win third Wuhan Open title
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Former Pakistan captain Azam dropped for second England Test
- 'Opportunist' Dupont dazzles on Toulouse return
- Australia replace injured Vlaeminck with Graham at Women's T20 World Cup
- Sinner wins Shanghai Masters to deny Djokovic 100th career title
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Israel hits Lebanon from the air and fights Hezbollah on the ground
- China's Yin has 'goosebumps' as she romps to LPGA win in Shanghai
- Pakistan to re-use Multan pitch for second England Test
- Blair and King Charles hail Salmond's 'devotion' to Scotland
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- England captain Stokes in line for second Pakistan Test return
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- Israel widens Lebanon strikes as troops fight Hezbollah along border
Stocks lower as investors weigh recession risk
Stock markets were lower on Wednesday as investors weighed the prospect of recession with inflation soaring around the world.
The yen fell to new lows against both the dollar and euro after the Bank of Japan -- in contrast with other central banks -- decided not to raise interest rates to rein in combat runaway consumer prices.
Just a day after the World Bank slashed its forecasts for global growth, the OECD warned that the world economy would pay a "hefty price" for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and inflation would keep rising.
The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development predicted that the world economy would grow by three percent this year -- much slower than its previous estimate of 4.5 percent in December.
Market sentiment "continues to remain extremely fickle, prone to the ebb and flow of inflation expectations, followed by fears that central banks will overreact in combatting inflation (and) concern about what that might do to global growth," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.
"This argument over whether we see a recession... is likely to become a lot clearer over the next week or so," he said, pointing in particular to the release of US inflation data on Friday.
European stock markets were in the red in mid-afternoon trading and Wall Street also opened lower following two days of gains.
Earlier in Asia, stock prices had rallied as China eases Covid lockdown restrictions and is forecast to lift its crackdown on the tech sector.
China's approval of dozens of new video game releases sent shares of some of its biggest tech firms soaring Wednesday.
Global equities have enjoyed some respite in recent weeks from a painful sell-off caused by central bank monetary tightening, in particular by the US Federal Reserve.
The new inflation data on Friday will provide a clearer idea about the pace of future Fed rate hikes.
In Europe, the European Central Bank is on Thursday expected to signal an end to its bond-buying, paving the way for an interest rate increase further down the line.
"The reality for the economy and probably the stock markets is that aggressive central bank rate hikes are likely to take a sharp bite out of household consumption," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.
Hungarian inflation has reached double figures for the first time in 20 years, official data showed Wednesday.
High oil prices, a major factor behind the surge in inflation, were up again on Wednesday.
- Key figures at around 1340 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent to 332,958.91 points
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,568.47
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.9 percent at 14,423.15
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.1 percent at 6,431.22
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,781.13
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 28,234.29 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.2 percent at 22,014.59 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,263.79 (close)
Dollar/yen: UP at 134.05 yen from 132.62 yen late Tuesday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0747 from $1.0715
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2558 from $1.2592
Euro/pound: UP at 85.59 pence from 85.02 pence
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.8 percent at $121.58 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $120.10 per barrel
burs/spm/jj
L.Harper--AMWN