Global markets appear to have called time on the dangerous game of hardball US president Donald Trump is playing with China, as a plunge in shares, government bond yields, and the price of oil signalled his trade wars could lead to world recession.

Last year turned out to be an uncertain, volatile and generally difficult one for equity market investors, writes Jim Power.

What a difference a few months can make and what damage a Twitter-happy finger can do.

The major US stock indexes closed mostly lower today after a midday gain faded by late afternoon.

A slide in Wall Street, involving fears over interest rates and reported Chinese cooling over US bonds, sent tremors around the world that an almost nine-year bull market in stocks was at an end.

Technology companies led US stocks modestly higher today, driving the market to another set of milestones.

Wall Street has finished November with a broad rally that gave the Dow Jones industrial average its biggest gain since March and pushed it past the 24,000 mark for the first time.

US stocks slipped today as smaller companies and banks took their worst losses in a few months.

Stockmarkets and other global risky asset markets may not be overvalued because of a “structural decline in real interest rates which is likely to endure”, says Capital Economics.

Apple made its biggest jump in six months on Wednesday, helping send the Dow Jones industrial average above 22,000 points for the first time.

The US stock market has enjoyed its biggest single-day gain in nearly four months, pushing the major indexes to record highs.

Furious Donald Trump has accused the FBI of impropriety after the bureau cleared US presidential rival Hillary Clinton of criminal wrongdoing in a new email probe, lifting a cloud hanging over the Democrat as America goes to the polls on Tuesday.

Last week, investors paid the Italian government to take money off them.

US stocks have closed mostly higher as markets regain their footing after a turbulent few weeks.

China’s key stock market index has surged 5.3%, its biggest gain in eight weeks, as markets across Asia rose following Wall Street’s rebound, giving investors some relief after gut-wrenching global losses.

Nikkei’s $1.3bn (€1.18bn) purchase of the Financial Times from Britain’s Pearson marks the culmination of decades of attempts by the Japanese household name to break into mainstream English-language media.

Concerns over Greece's latest effort to avoid a default weighed on US financial markets today.

A turbulent week of trading ended with US stocks finishing lower for the third time in five days.

A burst of buying in US stocks defied slumps in other markets and offered hope for investors shaken by geopolitical turmoil.

The US stock market staged a late rally yesterday, helping push the Dow Jones industrial average higher for the first time in a week.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed at an all-time high as the good narrowly outweighed the bad for the stock market.

For US investors, February is starting off even rougher than January.

Stocks on Wall Street ended mostly higher yesterday despite the US government’s latest jobs report, which showed a sharp decline in hiring last month.

A surgeon to the stars, a humanitarian, a business leader, and a pioneering dental researcher who has inspired a generation of dentists, are to be honoured by their university for making their mark on the world stage.

NEW YORK: the Dow Jones closed up 111.4 at 15680.4.

NEW YORK: the Dow Jones closed up 75.5 at 15467.7.

NEW YORK: the Dow Jones closed up 127.9 at 15191.1.

Eurozone markets closed the day on a positive note. The Iseq was no exception, up 6.7 points to 3975.42 on the back of positive results from the likes of Paddy Power and Origin.

The Dow Jones closed down 5.1 at 14968.9 last night.

NEW YORK: the Dow Jones closed up 10.4 at 14547.5.

The Dow Jones closed down 64.3 at 14447.8 last night.

NEW YORK: the Dow Jones closed up 8.4 at 13981.8.

NEW YORK: The Dow Jones closed down 9.5 at 13973.4.

NEW YORK: The Dow Jones closed up 48.9 at 13993.0.

The Dow stock marker closed down on the first trading day after it reached 14,000 for the first time since the financial crisis.

NEW YORK: The Dow Jones closed up 149.2 at 14009.8.

The Wall Street Journal said its computer systems have been infiltrated by Chinese hackers who were trying to monitor the newspaper’s coverage of China.

NEW YORK: The Dow Jones closed up 62.5 at 13712.2.

The stock market shot higher even as the “fiscal cliff” neared. By the time trading ended, Republicans and Democrats still had not reached a budget compromise – but investors were betting that they would.

US stocks closed lower after a weak holiday shopping report sent shares of major retailers lower.

The Dow Jones closed down 120.9 at 13190.8 last night.

HONG KONG: The Hang Seng index closed down 153.5 at 22506.3.

The Dow Jones closed down 35.7

The US economy added 146,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7%, the lowest since December 2008, with the government saying Superstorm Sandy had only a minimal effect on the figures.

Rupert Murdoch today called time on News Corporation’s digital newspaper The Daily as he unveiled a revamped team at the top of the media giant’s new publishing arm.

The Dow Jones closed down 89.2 at 12878.1 last night.

World stock markets rose today after talks over Greece’s financial crisis ended with an agreement on how to reduce its debt load.

The Dow Jones closed unchanged.

The US stock market finally shook its post-election slump last night.