Stocks and oil slide China lockdowns, rate hike fears

London (AFP) April 25, 2022

Stock markets and oil prices slumped Monday on growing concern that lockdowns in China aimed at fighting a worsening Covid outbreak could further harm a world economy battling decades-high inflation. The losses extended last week's sell-off triggered by Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell indicating that the US central bank would hike interest rates by half a percentage point next month and p