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- SE Asian summit urges end to Myanmar violence but struggles for solutions
- Wimbledon replaces line judges with electronic system
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England power to 351-3
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England's power to 351-3
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- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson set for six weeks out
- Taylor Swift got police escort to London gigs after Austria terror plot
- Cook tips Root to break Tendulkar's all-time runs record
- British skull auction sparks Indian demand for return
- Joe Root: England's elegant Test record-breaker
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Hezbollah strikes Israel, says it foiled Israeli incursions
- Jurgen Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Sinner to face Medvedev in Shanghai Masters quarter-finals
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Record-breaking Root guides England to 232-2 in reply to Pakistan's 556
- Japan PM dissolves parliament for 'honeymoon' snap election
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- Goodbye Tito? Tomb at risk as Serbs argue over Yugoslav legacy
- Restoration experts piece together silent Sherlock Holmes mystery
- Sinner avoids Shanghai deja vu with assured Shelton win
- Pyongyang to 'permanently' shut border with South Korea
- Trumpet star Marsalis says jazz creates 'balance' in divided world
- No children left on Greece's famed but emptying island
- Nepali becomes youngest to climb world's 8,000m peaks
- Climate change made deadly Hurricane Helene more intense: study
- A US climate scientist sees hurricane Helene's devastation firsthand
- Padres edge Dodgers, Mets on the brink
- Can carbon credits help close coal plants?
- With EU funding, Tunisian farmer revives parched village
- Sega ninja game 'Shinobi' gets movie treatment
- Boeing suspends negotiations with striking workers
- 7-Eleven owner's shares spike on report of new buyout offer
- Your 'local everything': what 7-Eleven buyout battle means for Japan
- Three million UK children living below poverty line: study
- China's Jia brings film spanning love, change over decades to Busan
- Paying out disaster relief before climate catastrophe strikes
- Chinese shares drop on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- SE Asian summit seeks progress on Myanmar civil war
- How climate funds helped Peru's women beekeepers stay afloat
- Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded as wars rage
- Pacific island nations swamped by global drug trade
- AI-aided research, new materials eyed for Nobel Chemistry Prize
- Mozambique elects new president in tense vote
- The US economy is solid: Why are voters gloomy?
- Balkan summit to rally support for struggling Ukraine
- New stadium gives Real Madrid a headache
Asian markets mixed ahead of key Fed announcement
Asian markets were mixed Tuesday as traders shifted nervously while awaiting the Federal Reserve's policy decision and the release of US inflation data, while the euro struggled to recover from a sell-off fuelled by political uncertainty in Europe.
After an upbeat run last week fuelled by signs of an easing in the labour market and economy, Friday's forecast-busting non-farm jobs report provided a dose of reality that interest rates might be kept elevated for some time.
Speculation has been swirling about how many, if any, cuts the Fed will introduce this year, with several officials warning that they are reluctant to move too soon for fear of restoking inflation, which remains stubbornly above target.
Focus is now on the conclusion Wednesday of the latest policy meeting and the release of May's consumer price index, which dipped in April after three successive above-forecast readings.
While decision-makers are expected to keep borrowing costs on hold, the main interest is their so-called "dot plot" forecast for them over the coming months.
Traders started the year predicting as many as six cuts but they have whittled them down since then and now the most optimistic estimate is for three, with some even eyeing zero.
"The interest-rate guessing game goes on," said Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley. "Even the friendliest inflation numbers probably won't push the Fed to act any sooner than September."
All three main indexes on Wall Street pushed higher Monday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq chalking up records again.
But Asian investors were less assured Tuesday, after a tepid performance the day before in holiday-thinned trade.
Hong Kong, Shanghai and Sydney all sank on their return from an extended weekend break, while Singapore, Manila and Jakarta were also down.
However, Tokyo, Seoul, Wellington and Taipei all edged up.
The euro remained under pressure against its peers owing to growing political uncertainty after French President Emmanuel Macron called a snap parliamentary election in reaction to a strong showing by the country's far-right in EU elections.
The move followed a crushing blow for centrists in the poll, with hardliners in Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Austria also performing well.
Oil dipped after Monday's rally that came as traders await the release of an OPEC report that will outline its forecasts for demand.
The gains followed a recent plunge in the commodity sparked by an announcement from OPEC and other producers that they will start reversing recent cuts.
The losses led officials at the grouping to reassure markets that it still would change its mind if circumstances dictated.
- Key figures around 0230 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 39,155.16 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.8 percent at 18,033.65
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.2 percent at 3,014.87
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0768 from $1.0767 on Monday
Euro/pound: UP at 84.57 pence from 84.54 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 157.22 yen from 157.04 yen
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2731 from $1.2732
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $77.57 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $81.39 per barrel
New York - Dow Jones: UP 0.2 percent at 38,868.04 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,228.48 (close)
Ch.Kahalev--AMWN