- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- 20 Pakistan coal miners shot dead in attack: police
- Blinken condemns China's 'increasingly dangerous' sea moves
- Toyota returns to Formula One as Haas partner
- EU chief says China must 'adapt its behaviour' to solve trade row
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- Lynx rally, stun Liberty in overtime in WNBA Finals opener
- Pogacar hunting 'perfect' season finale with Coppi's Il Lombardia record
- 'Soul of old Baghdad': city centre sees timid revival
- Kittle at the double as Niners hold off Seahawks
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Yankees advance in MLB playoffs as Guardians stay alive
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- Kamada says Japan can close in on World Cup place against Australia
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- Renewables revolt in Sardinia, Italy's coal-fired island
- Argentina held, Brazil leave it late in 2026 World Cup qualifiers
- Obama blasts 'crazy' Trump in first rally for Harris
- 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, a plea in favour of world order?
- Fry homers as Guardians down Tigers to stay alive in MLB playoffs
- Japan PM presses China's Li on airspace intrusion
- In Trump 'Truths,' conspiracies, attacks -- and doubts about the election
- How Sebastian Stan found a 'relatable' Trump for 'The Apprentice' biopic
- Panama's water wheel trash collector keeps plastic at bay
- It's still 'the economy, stupid,' says US political guru Carville
- Five key dates in the history of the America's Cup
- Zelensky to meet Pope, Scholz as whirlwind Europe tour ends
- At least 10 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Far from eye, Hurricane Milton's deadly tornados rampaged Florida
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Argentina held, Bolivia stun Colombia in 2026 qualifiers
- Socceroos have 'nothing to fear' from Japan
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex trafficking trial set for May 2025
- Bolivia stun Colombia in World Cup qualifiers
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Greece earn late win against England in Nations League, Italy-Belgium stalemate
- Trump biopic 'The Apprentice' hits US theaters weeks before election
- Pavlidis dedicates 'special' Greece win over England to tragic Baldock
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- 'Like a quake': Beirut shaken after deadliest strikes on centre
- Fallen giants Ghana in AFCON trouble after Sudan draw
- Asian leaders meet in Laos with US, Russia on world turmoil
- England gamble backfires as Pavlidis fires emotional Greece to victory
- Obama stumps for Harris, Trump talks US protectionism
- New-look France ease past Israel in Nations League
- Belgium fight back to draw with 10-man Italy in Nations League
- 'Get a life': Hurricane whips up US election storm
- Japan stay perfect in World Cup qualifying
Stock markets in holding pattern before Fed announcement lands
Stock markets barely budged Wednesday as traders awaited the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate meeting.
In New York, the Dow, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were all 0.1 percent or less either side of Tuesday's closing levels as investors avoided bets ahead of the Fed's announcements later Wednesday.
London and Frankfurt were also little changed, but Paris slumped after a profit warning from a flagship luxury goods company.
The Fed is expected to leave its interest rates unchanged and "that makes Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-FOMC press conference a must-see, must-listen occasion as investors seek clues to the central bank's mindset on inflation and the path of interest rates," said Charles Schwab analyst Joe Mazzola.
Traders will be closely watching the "dot plot" of projections for how many cuts they see this year.
In December, the Fed was projecting a total of three cuts this year but there are worries policymakers could harden their outlook to just two and maybe even delay the first cut because of stickier-than-anticipated inflation in recent reports.
The continued health of the US jobs market is also lifting pressure off the Fed to ease its monetary stance.
That continued health could support US stocks even if the Fed's language is deemed hawkish, said Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG.
"The keys to further gains are higher earnings and a solid economy, and both those things are still in place in the US," he said.
Paris' luxury-heavy CAC 40 index fell 0.5 percent after French giant and Gucci-owner Kering issued a profit warning over weak Chinese demand.
"This is causing concern that other luxury houses could see a similar downturn in demand from this important market," said Kathleen Brooks, an analyst at XTB.com.
Kering shares closed down 12 percent in Paris, its worst single-day decline ever.
Burberry shed more than three percent in London. LVMH fell 1.4 percent in Paris and Hermes was little changed.
London stocks were largely flat even though UK inflation fell more than expected, fuelling speculation that the Bank of England could start cutting its key rate in June rather than later in the year.
In the eurozone, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned of the risk of acting "too late" on interest rate cuts, reaffirming the likelihood that the first reduction in the bloc's borrowing costs would come in June.
"We cannot wait until we have all the relevant information," Lagarde said at a conference in Frankfurt.
But she also declined to pre-commit to an interest rate path once that first cut has been made.
The yen continued its slide after the Bank of Japan marginally raised rates but indicated it wouldn't do so again in the near term.
- Key figures around 1640 GMT -
New York - Dow: FLAT at 39,108.26 points
New York - S&P 500: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 5,175.34
New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 16,152.39
London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 7,737.38 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 8,161.41 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 18,015.13 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2 percent at 5,000.31 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 16,543.07 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3,079.69 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for holiday
Dollar/yen: UP at 151.59 yen from 150.88 yen on Tuesday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0858 from $1.0867
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2712 from $1.2721
Euro/pound: UNCHANGED at 85.40 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.2 percent at $81.67 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.6 percent at $85.95 per barrel
burs-gv/rl
P.M.Smith--AMWN