- 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
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
European stocks retreat after positive start, oil surges
European equities retreated from a positive start Friday as investors await key US jobs data after being spooked by a possible eurozone interest rate hike and the crash of Facebook owner Meta's shares.
Asian stock markets closed higher as a surge in Hong Kong on its first day back from a holiday break helped overcome a sharp drop on Wall Street Thursday, while forecast-beating earnings from Amazon helped to offset worries elsewhere.
Oil prices struck seven year highs close to $93 per barrel as traders bet on continued improvement in demand thanks to the economic reopening, and with the United States hit by a cold snap.
Lingering worries over Ukraine-Russia tensions were also playing a key role in the spike, with analysts predicting $100 could be breached soon.
All eyes were on US jobs data due Friday -- likely to be seen as a guide for future Federal Reserve rate hike decisions as central banks battle decades-high inflation.
"The non-farm payrolls report... is a keenly watched snapshot of the US labour market, and its likely to show Omicron caused jobs growth to slow," noted Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Commentators said a strong reading on the jobs front would revive talk of a 50-basis-point US rate hike in March.
The European Central Bank's apparent shift in its outlook towards lifting rates this year itself stunned investors Thursday.
ECB chief Christine Lagarde had for months said inflationary pressures would be temporary and dissipate as the world economy reopens and supply chains resume -- allowing the bank to keep rates ultra-low this year.
But a record jump in eurozone prices last month and no sign of them easing has forced her to re-evaluate, saying the "situation had indeed changed".
The news boosted the euro -- the single currency recording a weekly gain of nearly three percent against the dollar.
It also came as the Bank of England announced successive rate increases Thursday.
The ECB news jolted US markets, which were already down owing to a rout in tech stocks, which came after Meta's sobering earnings report that caused it to lose more than a quarter of its value.
Hong Kong led the way in Asia, rising more than three percent as investors in the city returned from a three-day Lunar New Year break.
"It's clearly a rebound to catch up with the world, but we need to see how Hong Kong can navigate global volatility from here on," said Joshua Crabb at Robeco Hong Kong.
- Key figures around 1200 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,511.39 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.7 percent at 15,108.58
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.1 percent at 6,930.30
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.6 percent at 4,074.32
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 27,439.99 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 3.2 percent at 24,573.29 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.5 percent at 35,111.16 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1477 from $1.1438 late Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3571 from $1.3601
Euro/pound: UP at 84.53 pence from 84.06 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 114.85 yen from 114.95 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 2.0 percent at $92.94 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.1 percent at $92.19 per barrel
D.Cunningha--AMWN