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- South Africa boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes with Bangladesh win
- Samson ton powers India to T20 series sweep after record total
- Djokovic to face Sinner in Shanghai final with 100th title in sight
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- New Zealand enjoy perfect start to America's Cup defence over Britain
- Pogacar emulates icon Coppi with fourth straight Il Lombardia triumph
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- New Zealand crush Ineos Britannia in America's Cup opener
- Djokovic to face Sinner in blockbuster Shanghai Masters final
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- Sri Lanka seeks to match success in W.Indies T20s
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- Sabalenka downs Gauff in three sets to reach Wuhan final
- Israel warns south Lebanon residents to 'not return'
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- Hezbollah fires at Israel as wars rage on Yom Kippur
- Analysts warn more detail needed on new China economic measures
- China tees up fresh spending to boost ailing economy
- China says will issue special bonds to boost ailing economy
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- Dodgers drop Padres 2-0 to advance in MLB playoffs
- Alexei Navalny wrote he knew he would die in prison in new memoir
- Last-minute legal ruling allows betting on US election
- Despite hurricanes, Floridians refuse to leave 'paradise'
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- Trump demonizes migrants in dark, misleading speech
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- US, European markets rise before Boeing unveils sweeping job cuts
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- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Germany win in Nations League as 10-man Dutch rescue point
Asian markets swing as traders eye Fed, US jobs and earnings
Asian equities fluctuated Wednesday after a mixed performance on Wall Street, with traders keenly awaiting what the Federal Reserve has to say after its much-anticipated policy meeting later in the day.
A key Treasury auction, US jobs figures and earnings from some of the world's biggest companies including Apple and Amazon were also in view this week.
That all comes while the crisis surrounding China's fallen property titan Evergrande casts a shadow and stokes worries about the world's number two economy.
While the Dow clocked up another record in New York, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq went into reverse as a forecast-beating read on US job openings reinforced the view that the labour market remained resilient despite interest rates sitting at two-decade highs.
And while that came with figures showing consumer confidence at a more than two-year high in January and inflation expectations falling, traders are worried the Fed will not cut borrowing costs as much as had been expected just a few weeks ago.
The odds on a March reduction are now about one in three, according to Bloomberg News, which added that hopes for a continued loosening of monetary policy through 2024 were also fading.
Fed guidance last month suggested about three cuts this year, but at one point markets had priced in as many as six.
Bank decision-makers are expected to conclude their most recent meeting later Wednesday by keeping rates unchanged, but their statement and comments by boss Jerome Powell will be pored over for clues about their thinking ahead of the March gathering.
Wednesday "may be significant for markets as the cross-currents of big-tech earnings, the ADP jobs report, the distribution of Treasury issuance, and Powell comments meet at a critical juncture", Jose Torres, of Interactive Brokers, said.
"I'm expecting Powell to take some rate cuts off the table by perhaps even calling the current projections aggressive."
And Greg Whitely at DoubleLine added that officials' remarks indicated "there will be room for the Fed to cut rates this year, but it's not going to happen as soon as the market is pricing".
The meeting is followed Friday by the closely followed non-farm payrolls report, which provides the clearest guide to the strength of the labour market. A reading on private-sector hiring is due later Wednesday.
Meanwhile, traders are nervously keeping tabs on developments in the Evergrande saga after a Hong Kong court ordered the liquidation of the property giant this week, adding to worries about China's economic prospects and raising questions about foreign investment in the country.
A lack of concrete measures from Beijing to address sharply slowing GDP growth is also dragging on investor sentiment, with hopes now hanging on big meetings of the Communist Party that are expected next month.
Uncertainty over China continues to weigh on stocks in Hong Kong and Shanghai, which fell once again Wednesday, wiping out a large chunk of last week's gains.
Seoul, Wellington, Bangkok and Taipei also fell, though Sydney, Singapore, Manila, Mumbai and Jakarta rose.
Tokyo rose, after reversing early losses that came as a summary of last week's meeting showed Bank of Japan officials were edging towards tightening monetary policy as inflation picks up and the economy shows some life.
- Key figures around 0710 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.6 percent at 36,286.71 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.5 percent at 15,463.18
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.5 percent at 2,788.55 (close)
Dollar/yen: UP at 147.82 yen from 147.59 yen on Tuesday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0819 from $1.0850
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.36 pence from 85.41 pence
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2673 from $1.2699
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.4 percent at $77.55 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $82.56 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 38,467.31 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,666.31 (close)
L.Harper--AMWN