- Ronaldo scores in Portugal's Nations League win as Spain sink Denmark
- Interim boss Carsley has not applied for England job
- Mets hurler Senga ready to take on Dodgers in game one of NL Championship Series
- Ronaldo on target again as Portugal defeat Poland in Nations League
- Guardians rip Tigers 7-3 to advance in MLB playoffs
- AFP, BBC win top French war reporting awards
- Carsley goes back to basics as humbled England face Finland
- Alex Salmond: the man who took Scotland to the brink of independence
- Scotland's former leader Alex Salmond dies aged 69: party
- UN warns of catastrophe as Israel fights a two-front war
- Croatia extend Scotland's losing streak
- South Africa, New Zealand boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes
- 'Very challenging': Israel faces Hezbollah in tricky terrain
- Farrell begins to feel at home as Racing 92 beat Toulon
- 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
- UN peacekeepers to remain in Lebanon: spokesman
- Pro-Conquest film fuels debate in Mexico over colonial legacy
- Samson ton powers India to record 297-6 in Bangladesh T20
- New Zealand enjoy perfect start to America's Cup defence over Britain
- Pogacar emulates icon Coppi with fourth straight Il Lombardia triumph
- UN warns against 'catastrophic' regional conflict
- New Zealand crush Ineos Britannia in America's Cup opener
- Djokovic to face Sinner in blockbuster Shanghai Masters final
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- Sri Lanka seeks to match success in W.Indies T20s
- Sinner reaches Shanghai final, will end year number one
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Sabalenka downs Gauff in three sets to reach Wuhan final
- Israel warns south Lebanon residents to 'not return'
- Sinner tames Machac to reach Shanghai Masters final
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- 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
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- 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'
- Israel observes Yom Kippur amid firestorm over Lebanon strikes
- Trump demonizes migrants in dark, misleading speech
- X says 'alert' to manipulation efforts after pro-Russia bots report
- US, European markets rise before Boeing unveils sweeping job cuts
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Comoros shock Tunisia, Salah, Mbeumo strike in AFCON qualifiers
Global stocks swing before Fed rate call
World stock markets diverged Wednesday after a tepid performance on Wall Street, with all eyes on the US Federal Reserve's latest interest rate decision.
Fed policymakers are widely expected to hold borrowing costs -- but their statement and comments by boss Jerome Powell will be pored over for clues about their thinking ahead of their next gathering in March.
Investors are hoping the Fed will begin cutting rates soon after hiking them to their highest level in more than two decades to combat inflation.
London and Paris rose but Frankfurt fell near the half-way stage, after a mixed showing in Asia. The dollar edged higher against the euro and yen.
"Markets are eagerly anticipating today's meeting from the Federal Reserve with traders looking for signs over whether a March rate cut is plausible," said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.
"With inflation elevated and the US economy growing at a healthy clip, the justification for a cut in just over seven weeks is questionable as things stand."
Investors this week will also digest a key Treasury auction, US jobs figures and earnings from some of the world's biggest companies including Apple and Amazon, while the Bank of England reveals its latest rate decision on Thursday.
That all comes as the crisis surrounding China's fallen property titan Evergrande casts a shadow and stokes economic worries about the key energy consuming nation, sending oil prices sharply lower on Wednesday.
Wall Street was also mixed on Tuesday. 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.
With consumer confidence at a more than two-year high and inflation expectations falling, traders are worried the Fed will not cut borrowing costs as much as had been expected a few weeks ago.
"A rate cut has not been pegged any earlier than March so all the focus will be on the messaging which accompanies the announcement," added AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
"The Fed may encourage the recent scaling back of rate cut expectations and the extent to which it does could determine the path markets forge over the coming weeks."
The Fed will be 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 also due later Wednesday.
- Key figures around 1130 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,670.61 points
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,683.62
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.2 percent at 16,946.66
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,660.06
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.6 percent at 36,286.71 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 15,485.07 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.5 percent at 2,788.55 (close)
New York - Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 38,467.31 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0829 from $1.0845 on Tuesday
Dollar/yen: UP at 147.81 yen from 147.61 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 85.47 pence from 85.40 pence
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2670 from $1.2700
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.2 percent at $76.86 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.1 percent at $81.90 per barrel
burs-rfj/bcp
H.E.Young--AMWN