- 'Not viable': Barcelona turns against surging tourism
- Hezbollah says targeted Israeli naval base after deadly drone strike
- Rice praises 'unbelievable' England interim boss Carsley despite uncertainty
- Nepali teenager hailed as hero after climbing world's 8,000m peaks
- England captain Stokes back from injury for second Pakistan Test
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as markets rally
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as Asian markets rally
- South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone flights anger North
- Pakistan 'vigilantes' behind rise in online blasphemy cases
- Nearly 90, but opera legend Kabaivanska is still calling tune
- Smith experiment as Test opener over, Green out of India series
- With inflation down, ECB eyes faster tempo of rate cuts
- Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate
- Dodgers crush Mets 9-0 in MLB playoff series opener
- South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone tensions soar
- Cummins back, Marsh and Head out of Pakistan ODI series
- Shanghai stocks swing after stimulus briefing as most of Asia rises
- New Zealand's Latham promises 'no fear' as he takes charge for India Tests
- 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
Europe stocks tank as central banks fail to quell recession fears
European stock markets tumbled Thursday on fears of recession, despite central bank efforts to tame soaring inflation.
One day after the Federal Reserve's biggest US interest-rate hike in nearly 30 years, the Bank of England was set to increase borrowing costs for the fifth time in a row.
Economists forecast the BoE to hike its rate by a quarter-point to 1.25 percent, the highest since the 2009 global financial crisis, in a decision due at 1100 GMT.
Thrown into the mix, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) unexpectedly hiked rates for the first time since 2015.
"European bourses are tanking on recession fears as central banks act aggressively to tame inflation," City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta told AFP.
"While the move by the Fed was priced in, the SNB's hike was a shock that caught investors off guard. Harder and faster rate hikes from central banks mean that a recession will be hard to avoid."
Approaching the half-way stage in Europe, Frankfurt's stock market led the losses with a drop of nearly three percent. London and Paris were down 2.3 percent.
Markets have been pummelled this year as soaring consumer prices -- particularly on fallout from the Ukraine conflict -- have forced central banks to tamp up borrowing costs.
That has intensified fear that the world economy, which is still in recovery from the deadly Covid pandemic, could lurch back into a lengthy downturn.
"Central banks remain the focus as the baton passes to the Bank of England from the Federal Reserve," noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.
Despite the Fed's rate hike of 0.75 percentage points, "investors were sanguine on the basis of the news already being priced in", he said.
"Opinion is now split between whether this accelerated tightening will be more beneficial for the US economy in the long run, or whether an overenthusiastic policy will result in recession."
Elsewhere Thursday, Asian stock markets mostly closed lower and the dollar advanced.
Traders initially tracked Wednesday's strong performance on Wall Street as the US central bank move signalled it is intent on fighting runaway prices, but Fed boss Jerome Powell said such big moves would not be commonplace.
The size of the US rate hike had been expected after data showed inflation in the world's biggest economy at its highest since 1981.
Oil prices extended losses Thursday on demand worries caused by new Covid containment measures in China and news of surging US production.
- Key figures at around 0950 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 2.3 percent at 7,104.85 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 2.9 percent at 13,094.23
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 2.3 percent at 5,890.35
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 2.7 percent at 3,435.97
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 26,431.20 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.2 percent at 20,845.53 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,285.38 (close)
New York - Dow: UP 1.0 percent at 30,668.53 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0419 from $1.0444 late Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2133 from $1.2180
Euro/pound: UP at 85.86 pence from 85.75 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 132.84 yen from 133.84 yen
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.5 percent at $117.92 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $114.54
O.Johnson--AMWN