- Carter, Billups among 13 new Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
- Ravens rip Commanders as Lions lose NFL sacks leader in win
- Hezbollah drone strike kills four, wounds dozens at Israeli base
- China says launches military drills around Taiwan
- 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
US, European stocks fall on worries over inflation, central bank moves
Wall Street stocks tumbled Wednesday, giving back the prior session's gains on festering inflation worries and joining European equities lower ahead of a key European Central Bank decision.
US equities, which forged higher on Tuesday despite a downcast forecast from the World Bank, were back in the red as oil prices jumped and the White House warned of another gloomy consumer price report later this week.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters the Biden administration expects Friday's consumer price index to be "elevated," boosting expectations for more Federal Reserve monetary tightening.
"The Combination of higher crude prices and yields ticking up again has people concerned," said Art Hogan, strategist at National Securities.
Major US indices fell about one percent, while bourses in Paris and Frankfurt also retreated, with a market note from Charles Schwab describing investors as "appearing a bit skittish" ahead of Thursday's ECB decision.
The ECB 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.
The Paris-based Organization 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.
Earlier in Asia, stock prices had rallied as China eased 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.
Japan's Nikkei also piled on about one percent as the falling yen gave support to exporters.
The dollar climbed to a two-decade high against the Japanese currency, which has been weighed down by the Bank of Japan's hands-off approach to inflation compared with other central banks.
- Key figures at around 2030 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.8 percent to 32,910.90 (close)
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 1.1 percent at 4,115.77 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.7 percent at 12,086.27 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,593.00 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.8 percent at 14,445.99 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.8 percent at 6,448.63 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.5 percent at 3,788.93 (close)
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 134.29 yen from 132.59 yen late Tuesday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0720 from $1.0703
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2535 from $1.2592
Euro/pound: UP at 85.54 pence from 85.00 pence
Brent North Sea crude: UP 2.5 percent at $123.58 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.3 percent at $122.11 per barrel
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B.Finley--AMWN