Asia Business

Auction house Christie’s on Monday announced record sales of $8.4 billion in 2022, outshining its rival Sotheby’s, which also posted its best-ever result at $8 billion for the year.

Christie’s racked up $7.2 billion in auctions and another $1.2 billion in private sales, easily topping the $7.1 billion it made in 2021 as the art world emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic, which greatly hindered auction operations.

“In 2022, despite a challenging macro-environment, Christie’s has achieved our highest ever global sales,” chief executive officer Guillaume Cerutti said, referring to economic challenges sparked by inflation and the war in Ukraine.

He noted “the resilience of the art and luxury markets, the remarkable success of several major art collections — including the unforgettable Paul Allen sale — and the expertise and hard work of our teams around the world.”

Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft alongside Bill Gates, died in 2018. In 2009, he signed the “Giving Pledge” — a promise to donate the majority of one’s wealth to charity.

His extensive collection, spanning 500 years of art history, raked in a massive $1.6 billion. Five works went for more than $100 million each, including a Cezanne, a Van Gogh and a Gauguin.

And at a separate Christie’s sale in May, a famed Andy Warhol portrait of Marilyn Monroe — “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” — sold for $195 million, setting a record for a piece of 20th century art.

– Who was buying? –

This year at Christie’s, buyers from North and South America accounted for more of total sales as compared with 2021 — 40 percent of the value versus 35 percent — while Asian buyers were on the decline.

Nevertheless, according to French billionaire Francois Pinault, whose holding company Artemis controls Christie’s, Asian buyers were “absolutely crucial” to the overall success of the Allen sale. 

The auction house said its banner year was fueled by a “new generation of collectors”: 35 percent of all buyers in 2022 were first-time clients, and 34 percent of them qualify as millennials.

Asia has the “fastest-growing base of new collectors,” Christie’s said. 

Cerutti noted that cars and real estate did not figure in the results.

Last week, Sotheby’s announced a year-end total sales projection of $8 billion, as compared with $7.3 billion in 2021. That data includes art and luxury items, but also homes and collector cars.

The auction house — owned by French-Israeli telecoms magnate Patrick Drahi — also noted that its client base in Asia was “rapidly expanding,” and that those collectors were “spending more per person on average than collectors from elsewhere.”

European equities rose Monday in light pre-Christmas trade, rebounding gently from last week’s losses that followed bumper interest rate hikes, but Wall Street and Asian markets failed to get into the festive spirit.

Equity markets often experience a so-called Santa rally, when prices rise during thin year-end trading dominated by small investors in a festive mood.

“Everyone, it seems, is waiting to see if Santa is going to come around, which leaves the market stuck between feelings of hope and angst,” said market analyst Patrick O’Hare at Briefing.com.

“Accordingly, there isn’t much happening at the broad market level this morning,” he added.

The blue-chip Dow edged lower in late morning trading, while the broader S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite showed deeper losses.

Michael Hewson at CMC Markets said that most investors are likely “content to sit on the side-lines with the main focus likely to be on this week’s core PCE inflation data and personal spending numbers for November which are due on Friday.”

Meanwhile in Europe, stocks moved timidly higher.

Both Frankfurt and London rose 0.4 percent, while Paris added 0.3 percent.

“Markets are grinding higher as some traders are optimistic about valuations which seem to them somewhat attractive,” AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam told AFP.

“We really don’t have much volume in markets as traders are away for holidays,” he added.

“Overall I think it’s going to be pretty subdued trading, given the lack of significant data to react to,” noted analyst Susannah Streeter at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown.

Asian indices, however, fell on lingering concern over a possible global recession caused by moves to fight inflation from top central banks.

Equities took a turn south last week after monetary policymakers around the world signalled that while price rises appeared to be stabilising, more work would be needed to get them under control.

All three main indexes on Wall Street ended sharply lower Friday after the Federal Reserve warned it would continue tightening monetary policy into 2023.

That was followed by similar warnings from the European Central Bank and Bank of England, while data suggested economies were feeling the pinch, dealing a blow to sentiment heading into the Christmas break.

“With no shortage of economic headwinds, investors struggle to find something cheerful about this holiday week after the two most dominant central banks cast a pall over the proceedings,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes.

The US sell-off fed through to Asia, where Tokyo shed more than one percent, while Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta and Wellington were in negative territory, but Singapore and Mumbai edged up.

Adding to the downbeat mood was a spike in Covid-19 cases in China following the country’s reopening after almost three years of strict containment measures.

While the move is expected to boost the world’s number two economy, there is a worry that businesses and China’s health system will be hit in the near term.

Still, Beijing flagged a number of measures aimed at kickstarting growth next year, including support for the beleaguered property sector.

An expected pick-up in Chinese demand helped propel oil prices higher, as did plans by the United States to refill its strategic oil reserves.

– Key figures around 1630 GMT –

New York – Dow: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 32,897.24 points

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.2 percent at 3,811.24

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,361.31 (close)

Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 13,942.87 (close)

Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 6,473.29 (close)

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.1 percent at 27,237.64 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.5 percent at 19,352.81 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.9 percent at 3,107.11 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0614 from $1.0586 on Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2174 from $1.2148

Euro/pound: UP at 87.19 pence from 87.14 pence

Dollar/yen: UP at 136.98 yen from 136.60 yen

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.6 percent at $75.47 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.2 percent at $79.95 per barrel

burs-rl/lc

Tesco is facing a UK lawsuit brought by Burmese migrants in Thailand, who claim that one of the supermarket giant’s former clothing suppliers used their forced labour, lawyers said on Monday.

“Burmese migrants were made to work up to 99 hours a week on unlawful wages and in forced labour conditions at a Thailand factory making clothes for Tesco’s F&F fashion range,” said law firm Leigh Day, which represents the 130 claimants. 

The claimants are demanding compensation from Tesco and its Thai subsidiary at the time, Ek-Chai, which it sold in 2020.

They accuse the companies of being “unjustly enriched at the expense of the adult workers”.  

The suit will also target Intertek, the insurance and auditing group which inspected the factory where the alleged forced labour took place. 

If a settlement is not reached, the case will be pursued in the High Court in London, the legal firm warned in a statement. 

The workers were employed in the VK Garments factory in Mae Sot, northwest Thailand, between 2017 and 2020, where they cut, made and packed garments to be sold in Thailand. 

They were paid a maximum of £4.00 (4.60 euros) per day, and claim they were worked at a relentless pace for seven days a week and lived in tiny dormitories where they slept on a concrete floor. 

Tesco told AFP in a statement Monday that the claims were “incredibly serious” and that if it had “identified issues like this at the time they took place, we would have ended our relationship with this supplier immediately”.

While Tesco was not involved in the day-to-day running of the factory, it said “we would continue to urge” its former supplier “to reimburse employees for any wages they’re owed”. 

Compensation has so far only been awarded by the Thai courts, and only for severance pay. 

Intertek also said the allegations were serious, but it would not comment while legal proceedings were ongoing. 

Separately, 10 investment companies with assets totalling around £800 billion, including Schroders and Quilter Cheviot, on Monday signed a joint appeal calling for UK food retailers and the government to be increasingly vigilant about forced migrant labour in British agriculture. 

Many migrant workers in the UK have had to stump up large travel costs and “excessive fees to agents and middlemen”, often finding themselves saddled with debts, they warned. 

The UK’s main farming union warned in early December that the UK was heading for a food-supply crisis, mainly due to a lack of visas to bring in seasonal workers, who are in short supply after Brexit. 

The government announced on Friday plans to increase the number of seasonal visas available next year from a maximum of 40,000 to 45,000, with the possibility of an additional 10,000 if needed.

European equities rose Monday in light pre-Christmas trade, rebounding gently from last week’s losses that followed bumper interest rate hikes, but Wall Street and Asian markets failed to get into the festive mood.

Equity markets often experience a so-called Santa rally, when prices rise during the low-level holiday trading.

“Everyone, it seems, is waiting to see if Santa is going to come around, which leaves the market stuck between feelings of hope and angst,” said market analyst Patrick O’Hare at Briefing.com.

“Accordingly, there isn’t much happening at the broad market level this morning,” he added.

The blue-chip Dow opened marginally lower, with the broader S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite were flat.

Meanwhile in Europe, London rose 0.6 percent in afternoon trading, while Frankfurt and Paris both added 0.5 percent.

“Markets are grinding higher as some traders are optimistic about valuations which seem to them somewhat attractive,” AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam told AFP.

“We really don’t have much volume in markets as traders are away for holidays,” he added.

“Overall I think it’s going to be pretty subdued trading, given the lack of significant data to react to,” noted analyst Susannah Streeter at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown.

Asian indices, however, fell on lingering concern over a possible global recession caused by moves to fight inflation from top central banks.

Equities took a turn south last week after monetary policymakers around the world signalled that while price rises appeared to be stabilising, more work would be needed to get them under control.

All three main indexes on Wall Street ended sharply lower Friday after the Federal Reserve warned it would continue tightening monetary policy into 2023.

That was followed by similar warnings from the European Central Bank and Bank of England, while data suggested economies were feeling the pinch, dealing a blow to sentiment heading into the Christmas break.

“With no shortage of economic headwinds, investors struggle to find something cheerful about this holiday week after the two most dominant central banks cast a pall over the proceedings,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes.

The US sell-off fed through to Asia, where Tokyo shed more than one percent, while Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta and Wellington were in negative territory, but Singapore and Mumbai edged up.

Adding to the downbeat mood was a spike in Covid-19 cases in China following the country’s reopening after almost three years of strict containment measures.

While the move is expected to boost the world’s number two economy, there is a worry that businesses and China’s health system will be hit in the near term.

Still, Beijing flagged a number of measures aimed at kickstarting growth next year, including support for the beleaguered property sector.

An expected pick-up in Chinese demand helped propel oil prices higher.

– Key figures around 1430 GMT –

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 7,374.60 points

Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 13,960.89

Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.5 percent at 6,482.31

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.4 percent at 3,819.75

New York – Dow: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 32,894.27

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.1 percent at 27,237.64 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.5 percent at 19,352.81 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.9 percent at 3,107.11 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0610 from $1.0586 on Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2187 from $1.2148

Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.09 pence from 87.14 pence

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 136.59 yen from 136.60 yen

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.9 percent at $75.72 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.7 percent at $80.35 per barrel

burs/cw

Europe equities rose Monday in light pre-Christmas trade with many traders away for the festive break, rebounding gently from last week’s losses that followed bumper interest rate hikes.

“We really don’t have much volume in markets as traders are away for holidays,” AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam told AFP.

“Markets are grinding higher as some traders are optimistic about valuations which seem to them somewhat attractive.”

Heading into the afternoon, London rose 0.5 percent, while Frankfurt and Paris each won 0.4 percent in value.

“Overall I think it’s going to be pretty subdued trading, given the lack of significant data to react to,” noted analyst Susannah Streeter at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown.

Asian indices however fell on lingering concern over a possible global recession caused by moves to fight inflation from top central banks.

Equities took a turn south last week after monetary policymakers around the world signalled that while price rises appeared to be stabilising, more work would be needed to get them under control.

All three main indexes on Wall Street ended sharply lower Friday after the Federal Reserve warned it would continue tightening monetary policy into 2023.

That was followed by similar warnings from the European Central Bank and Bank of England, while data suggested economies were feeling the pinch, dealing a blow to sentiment heading into the Christmas break.

“With no shortage of economic headwinds, investors struggle to find something cheerful about this holiday week after the two most dominant central banks cast a pall over the proceedings,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes.

The US sell-off fed through to Asia, where Tokyo shed more than one percent, while Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta and Wellington were in negative territory, but Singapore and Mumbai edged up.

Adding to the downbeat mood was a spike in Covid-19 cases in China following the country’s reopening after almost three years of strict containment measures.

While the move is expected to boost the world’s number two economy, there is a worry that businesses and China’s health system will be hit in the near term.

Still, Beijing flagged a number of measures aimed at kickstarting growth next year, including support for the beleaguered property sector.

An expected pick-up in Chinese demand helped propel oil prices moderately higher.

– Key figures around 1200 GMT –

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 7,365.99 points

Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 13,945.14

Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 6,481.03

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3 percent at 3,815.94

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.1 percent at 27,237.64 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.5 percent at 19,352.81 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.9 percent at 3,107.11 (close)

New York – Dow: DOWN 0.9 percent at 32,920.46 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0607 from $1.0586 on Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2189 from $1.2148

Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.02 pence from 87.14 pence

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 136.24 yen from 136.60 yen

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $74.74 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.7 percent at $79.62 per barrel

Asian markets fell on Monday as traders weighed the prospect of a global recession caused by central bank moves to fight inflation.

Equities took a turn south last week after monetary policymakers around the world signalled that while price rises appeared to be stabilising, more work would be needed to get them under control.

All three main indexes on Wall Street ended sharply lower Friday after the Federal Reserve warned that it would continue tightening monetary policy into 2023.

That was followed by similar warnings from the European Central Bank and Bank of England, while data suggested economies were feeling the pinch, dealing a blow to sentiment heading into the Christmas break.

“With no shortage of economic headwinds, investors struggle to find something cheerful about this holiday week after the two most dominant central banks cast a pall over the proceedings,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes.

The sell-off in New York fed through to Asia, where Tokyo shed more than one percent, while Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta and Wellington were all in negative territory.

However, Singapore and Mumbai edged up, while London, Paris and Frankfurt opened higher.

“A Santa rally looks doubtful given elevated growth risks and hawkish central banks rhetoric,” said National Australia Bank’s Tapas Strickland.

Adding to the downbeat mood was a spike in Covid-19 cases in China following the country’s reopening after almost three years of strict containment measures.

While the move is expected to boost the world’s number two economy, there is a worry that businesses and China’s health system will be hit in the near term.

Still, Beijing flagged a number of measures aimed at kickstarting growth next year, including support for the beleaguered property sector.

Sylvia Jablonski of Defiance ETFs had an upbeat outlook.

She told Bloomberg Radio that “the market will look through the expectations of a future recession at some point and come back in because equities are starting to look cheaper and cheaper as we go along here”.

An expected pick-up in demand from the country helped drive a rally in oil prices, with both main contracts up more than one percent.

– Key figures around 0820 GMT –

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.1 percent at 27,237.64 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.5 percent at 19,352.81 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.9 percent at 3,107.11 (close)

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,355.10

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0633 from $1.0589 on Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2201 from $1.2140

Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.13 pence from 87.22 pence

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 135.83 yen from 136.68 yen

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $74.58 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.5 percent at $79.46 per barrel

New York – Dow: DOWN 0.9 percent at 32,920.46 (close)

Asian markets fell on Monday as traders weighed the prospect of a global recession caused by central bank moves to fight inflation.

Equities took a turn south last week after monetary policymakers around the world signalled that while price rises appeared to be stabilising, more work would be needed to get them under control.

All three main indexes on Wall Street ended sharply lower Friday after the Federal Reserve warned that it would continue tightening monetary policy into 2023.

That was followed by similar warnings from the European Central Bank and Bank of England, while data suggested economies were feeling the pinch, dealing a blow to sentiment heading into the Christmas break.

“With no shortage of economic headwinds, investors struggle to find something cheerful about this holiday week after the two most dominant central banks cast a pall over the proceedings,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes.

The sell-off in New York fed through to Asia, where Tokyo shed more than one percent, while Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Seoul, Manila, Jakarta and Wellington were all in negative territory.

“A Santa rally looks doubtful given elevated growth risks and hawkish central banks rhetoric,” said National Australia Bank’s Tapas Strickland.

Adding to the downbeat mood was a spike in Covid-19 cases in China following the country’s reopening after almost three years of strict containment measures.

While the move is expected to boost the world’s number two economy, there is a worry that businesses and the country’s health system will be hit in the near term.

Still, Beijing flagged a number of measures aimed at kickstarting growth next year, including support for the beleaguered property sector.

However, Sylvia Jablonski of Defiance ETFs had an upbeat outlook.

She told Bloomberg Radio that “the market will look through the expectations of a future recession at some point and come back in because equities are starting to look cheaper and cheaper as we go along here”.

An expected pick-up in demand from the country helped drive a rally in oil prices, with both main contracts up more than one percent.

– Key figures around 0230 GMT –

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.1 percent at 27,221.29 (break)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 19,282.35

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.1 percent at 3,134.33

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0607 from $1.0589 on Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2186 from $1.2140

Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.02 pence from 87.22 pence

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 136.06 yen from 136.68 yen

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.4 percent at $75.32 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.4 percent at $80.17 per barrel

New York – Dow: DOWN 0.9 percent at 32,920.46 (close)

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.3 percent at 7,332.12 (closing)

Germany on Saturday inaugurated its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, built in record time, as the country scrambles to adapt to life without Russian energy.

The rig in the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven was opened by Chancellor Olaf Scholz at a ceremony on board a specialist vessel known as an FSRU, named the Hoegh Esperanza.

“It’s a good day for our country and a sign to the whole world that the German economy will be able to remain strong,” Scholz said from the boat.

The Hoegh Esperanza sounded its horn as the chancellor, dressed in a high visibility jacket, approached.

The ship has already been stocked with gas from Nigeria that could supply 50,000 homes for a year, and the terminal is set to begin deliveries on December 22.

Germany plans to open four more government-funded LNG terminals over the next few months as well as a private terminal in the port of Lubmin.

Together, the terminals could deliver 30 billion cubic metres of gas a year from next year, or a third of Germany’s total gas needs — if Berlin can find enough LNG to service them.

LNG terminals allow for the import by sea of natural gas which has been chilled and turned into a liquid to make it easier to transport.

The FRSU stocks the LNG, then turns it back into a ready-to-use gas.

Until now, Germany had no LNG terminals and relied on cheap gas delivered through pipelines from Russia for 55 percent of its supply.

– Supply worries –

But since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, gas supplies to Germany have been throttled and Berlin has been forced to rely on LNG processed by Belgian, French and Dutch ports, paying a premium for transport costs.

The government decided to invest in building its own LNG terminals as quickly as possible and has spent billions of euros (dollars) on hiring FSRUs to service them.

However, Germany has not yet signed a single major long-term contract to begin filling the terminals from January.

“The import capacity is there. But what worries me are the deliveries,” Johan Lilliestam, a researcher at the University of Potsdam, told AFP.

A contract has been signed with Qatar for LNG to supply the Wilhelmshaven terminal but deliveries are not set to begin until 2026.

Suppliers want long-term contracts, while the German government is not keen to be locked into multi-year gas deals as it wants the country to become climate-neutral by 2045. 

“Companies need to know that the purchasing side in Germany will eventually diminish if we want to meet climate protection targets,” economy minister Robert Habeck has said.

Environmental campaigners have criticised the LNG project, with the DUH association announcing it will take legal action. A handful of protestors turned out in Wilhelmshaven with placards demanding an “End to gas”.

– Cold winter –

Germany could initially be forced to buy LNG from the expensive spot markets, which would lead to higher prices for consumers.

The market could also be squeezed next year by renewed demand in China as it emerges from strict Covid-19 curbs, Andreas Schroeder, an expert at the ICIS energy research institute, told AFP. 

“If Europe has been able to receive so much LNG in recent months, it is because Chinese demand was low,” Schroeder said. 

China recently signed a deal to buy gas from Qatar for 27 years — the longest such deal in history, according to Doha.

Germany has also had a cold winter so far, meaning the gas tanks have been emptying faster than expected.

“Gas consumption is increasing. This is a risk, especially if the cold spell continues,” said Klaus Mueller, the head of the country’s Federal Network Agency regulatory body, in a recent interview.

As a result, there is a real risk that Germany could experience temporary supply disruptions next winter, according to Schroeder.

Gas usage is currently down 13 percent compared to last year but the government wants that figure to be closer to 20 percent.

In Europe, the gap between supply and demand could reach 27 billion cubic metres (950 billion cubic feet) in 2023, according to an IEA report — equivalent to 6.5 percent of the European Union’s annual consumption.

Stock markets dropped further Friday on prospects of more aggressive rises in interest rates to fight inflation, renewing concerns over the global economy entering recession next year.

After a healthy rally in recent weeks fueled by signs that price rises were slowing, the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England this week dampened the holiday cheer by hiking borrowing costs again by sizable amounts and warning of more pain.

While inflation in many leading economies has started coming down — helped by a drop in energy costs — it still remains at or near multi-decade highs.

Observers have warned that economies could be heading for a period of stagflation where prices keep rising but growth stalls.

“In a nutshell, it is all about fears over a sharper economic slowdown in 2023 than previously expected,” noted Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index trading group.

“While macro data have been weak of late, there was still hope that the downturn might be short-lived and that a recession might be avoided in some regions altogether, amid signs of inflation peaking in some regions like the US.”

The latest rate hikes came as data showed US and UK retail sales dropping in November as consumers — key drivers of growth — feel the pinch from high prices and rate hikes.

– Recession on horizon? –

Eurozone and London shares all closed firmly in the red.  

Wall Street stocks meanwhile extended losses too, with major indices ending about one percent lower.

OANDA analyst Craig Erlam said the prospect of a “Santa rally” was fading.

“Going into December, there was growing optimism that policymakers could be a source of optimism going into the new year but instead, they’ve taken on the role of grinch, bringing a swift end to the celebrations,” he added.

Earlier, Asia had also seen losses, with Tokyo closing down 1.9 percent.

On the upside, Hong Kong rose on progress in talks over allowing US officials to audit Chinese firms listed in New York, easing concerns about a possible delisting of some big names such as Alibaba and Tencent.

The news provided a little more help to Hong Kong traders, whose sentiment has been lifted also by China’s shift away from the economically damaging zero-Covid policy as well as moves to open the city further to overseas visitors.

And a report in Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post said the border with mainland China would be fully reopened next month, providing another much-needed boost to the beleaguered economy.

However, the mood was soured a little by a US decision to put 36 Chinese companies including top producers of advanced computer chips on a trade blacklist, severely restricting their access to any US technology.

– Key figures around 2230 GMT –

New York – Dow: DOWN 0.9 percent at 32,920.46 (close)

New York – S&P 500: DOWN 1.1 percent at 3,852.36 (close)

New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 1.0 percent at 10,705.41 (close)

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.3 percent at 7,332.12 (closing)

Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.7 percent at 13,893.07 (closing)

Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 1.1 percent at 6,452.63 (closing)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,804.02 (close)

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.9 percent at 27,527.12 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 19,450.67 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,167.86 (close)

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.4 percent at $74.29 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 2.7 percent at $79.04 per barrel

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0589 from $1.0628 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2140 from $1.2178

Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.22 pence from 87.27 pence

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 136.68 yen from 137.78 yen

Stock markets dropped further Friday on prospects of more aggressive rises in interest rates to fight inflation, renewing concerns over the global economy entering recession next year.

After a healthy rally in recent weeks fuelled by signs that price rises were slowing, the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England this week crushed any Christmas spirit by hiking borrowing costs again by sizeable amounts and warning of more pain.

While inflation in most countries has started coming down — helped by a drop in energy costs — it remains at multi-decade highs.

Observers have warned that economies could be heading for a period of stagflation where prices keep rising but growth stalls.

“In a nutshell, it is all about fears over a sharper economic slowdown in 2023 than previously expected,” noted Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index trading group.

“While macro data have been weak of late, there was still hope that the downturn might be short-lived and that a recession might be avoided in some regions altogether, amid signs of inflation peaking in some regions like the US.”

The latest rate hikes came as data showed US and UK retail sales dropping in November as consumers — key drivers of growth — feel the pinch from high prices and rate hikes.

– Recession on horizon? –

Eurozone and London shares all closed firmly in the red.  

Wall Street stocks meanwhile extended losses too, dropping more than one percent by mid-session.

OANDA analyst Craig Erlam said the prospect of a “Santa rally” was fading.

“Going into December, there was growing optimism that policymakers could be a source of optimism going into the new year but instead, they’ve taken on the role of grinch, bringing a swift end to the celebrations,” he added.

Earlier, Asia had also seen losses, with Tokyo closing down 1.9 percent.

On the upside, Hong Kong rose on progress in talks over allowing US officials to audit Chinese firms listed in New York, easing concerns about a possible delisting of some big names such as Alibaba and Tencent.

The news provided a little more help to Hong Kong traders, whose sentiment has been lifted also by China’s shift away from the economically damaging zero-Covid policy as well as moves to open the city further to overseas visitors.

And a report in Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post said the border with mainland China would be fully reopened next month, providing another much-needed boost to the beleaguered economy.

However, the mood was soured a little by a US decision to put 36 Chinese companies including top producers of advanced computer chips on a trade blacklist, severely restricting their access to any US technology.

– Key figures around 1645 GMT –

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.3 percent at 7,332.12  points (closing)

Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.7 percent at 13,893.07 (closing)

Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 1.1 percent at 6,452.63 (closing)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,804.02  

New York – Dow: DOWN 1.2 percent at 32,800.82 

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.9 percent at 27,527.12 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 19,450.67 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,167.86 (close)

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.6 percent at $74.13 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 2.9 percent at $78.84 per barrel

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0605 from $1.0627 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2163 from $1.2175

Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.18 pence from 87.26 pence

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 136.60 yen from 137.80 yen