Global stocks rally but oil prices tumble

NEW YORK (AFP/APP): US and European stock markets mostly picked up on Friday as investors fished for bargains and shrugged off losses elsewhere, but oil prices dropped over concerns on the world economy. London stocks were lifted by official data showing UK retail sales rose in October, rebounding from a 1.5-percent slump in the prior month.
The news also boosted the pound, which fell the previous day on a harsh government budget and confirmation that Britain was in recession.
Major European indices closed in the green, with London’s FTSE 100 index up 0.5 percent and the Paris CAC 40 rising one percent.
But analysts cautioned that the UK remains gripped by a cost-of-living crisis. “It is not the start of a promising trend,” said Craig Erlam, an analyst at trading platform OANDA.
Wall Street stocks mostly bounced as well on positive results from retailers including Gap and Foot Locker, while investors tried to shake off concerns over further interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve. The retailers’ good news have “mitigated some of the weakness seen earlier this week,” following Target’s disappointing results, said Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com.
But with worries about the world’s economy and rising coronavirus cases, the price of the main US crude oil contract, WTI, tumbled on Friday below $80 a barrel for the first time since the end of September. The main international oil contract, Brent crude, also fell by nearly three percent Friday around 1630 GMT.