- Kyrgios vows to 'shut up' doubters with December comeback
- Public hearings start into death of Brit by Russian nerve agent
- Ex-Stasi officer faces verdict over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Role of government, poverty research tipped for economics Nobel
- 'Stolen satire' feeds US election misinformation
- Rookie McCarty captures first PGA Tour title in Black Desert Championship
- Australia all-rounder Green ruled out of India Test series
- Seeing double in Nigeria's 'twins capital of the world'
- UK FM to attend EU foreign affairs talks for first time in 2 years
- 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
Stocks tumble worldwide as US inflation soars
Stock markets plunged deeper into the red on Friday after data showed US inflation soared to the highest level in more than 40 years in May, far outpacing analysts' expectations.
In Europe, all of the major stock indices ended the week sharply lower.
Paris's blue-chip CAC 40 lost 2.7 percent on Friday, Frankfurt's DAX index was down 3.1 percent, Milan's FTSE MIB shed 5.1 percent, Madrid's IBEX tumbled 3.7 percent and London's FTSE dropped by 2.1 percent.
On Wall Street, stocks also were deep in negative territory after US government data showed inflation reached 8.6 percent in the 12 months ended in May, the steepest rise in consumer prices since December 1981, on the back of surging energy and food prices.
The data had been eagerly anticipated as investors hungrily look for clues as to the direction of US interest rates at next week's meeting of the Federal Reserve.
"The market had expected that we'd see at least a plateauing or flattening out of inflation but it seems that inflation pressures continue to build and we've seen a further broadening of price pressures," said Shaun Osborne, a foreign exchange specialist at Scotiabank.
"So it seems more entrenched, stickier kind of price or inflation situation."
Osborne said the report will encourage investor debate on whether the US central bank will shift to a 75 basis point interest rate hike next week instead of the planned half-point increase.
But Osborne believes the Fed will go with its original plan, considering a bigger increase would look "panicky."
Adding to the unease was news that officials in China had once again locked down millions of people for Covid testing owing to another flare-up in cases, dealing a blow to hopes for an economic reopening.
"Warning signs about the economy are emerging as weekly (US) jobless claims are starting to rise, China's Covid situation will prove troublesome for supply chains over the next couple of quarters, and as inflationary pressures broaden and show no sign of easing," said Edward Moya, analyst at OANDA trading group.
"It seems reductions in global growth forecasts will become a steady theme over the next few months and that should complicate how much more tightening we see from central banks," he said.
The World Bank and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development this week each lowered their global economic growth forecasts for 2022.
- Key figures at around 2100 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 2.7 percent at 31,392.79 (close)
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 2.9 percent at 3,900.86 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 3.5 percent at 11,340.02 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 2.1 percent at 7,317.52 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 3.1 percent at 13,761.83 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 2.7 percent at 6,187.23 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 3.4 percent at 3,599.20 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.5 percent at 27,824.29 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 21,806.18 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 3,284.83 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0526 from $1.0617 late Thursday
Euro/pound: UP at 85.39 pence from 84.98 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 134.42 yen from 134.36 yen
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2309 from $1.2493
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.9 percent at $122.01 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $120.67 per barrel
burs-jmb/hs
P.Mathewson--AMWN