- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
US stocks diverge as investors weigh slowing inflation
US stocks diverged on Wednesday as consumer inflation fell more than expected, fuelling a debate about the size of an expected Federal Reserve interest-rate cut next week.
In Europe, London's share-price gains were capped in midday deals by official data showing Britain's economy stalled in July.
Paris and Frankfurt grew by bigger amounts as investors in the eurozone geared up for an expected rate cut by the European Central Bank on Thursday.
Asia's main equity indices closed lower with a strong yen weighing on Tokyo's market, while Chinese stocks were knocked by concerns over China's struggling economy, analysts said.
Investors were also digesting the US presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump.
Eagerly awaited data out Wednesday showed the US consumer price index (CPI) slowed more-than-expected to 2.5 percent in August from a year ago, down from 2.9 percent in July and the lowest annual figure since February 2021.
Mahmoud Alkudsi, senior market analyst at brokerage ADSS, said recent inflation data has come in lower-than-expected, and has been accompanied by weak jobs market data for the past two months.
"These developments may give the data-driven Federal Reserve greater confidence to accelerate its pace of interest rate cuts, potentially to the tune of 50 basis points at its next meeting," he said.
Fed officials have signalled they are ready to begin cutting interest rates at their meeting next week for the first time since inflation rocketed and then fell in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Whether they will start with 25 or 50 basis points cut has been the subject of intense debate among traders.
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said the main takeaway from Wednesday's report is that "core" inflation with volatile food and energy prices stripped out remains stubbornly above the Fed's two percent target.
"The elevated core reading on a monthly and annual basis will be a focal point for the Fed and a likely reason to keep a September rate cut capped at 25 basis points," he said.
As the data deteriorates debate has also raged whether the Fed has waited too long to begin cutting rates and the US economy may be heading into recession. Stocks and oil prices have seen sharp falls in the past couple weeks as the growth outlook worsens.
Oil prices recovered in part after a hammering Tuesday, when Brent North Sea crude slid below $70 per barrel for the first time since December 2021 on concerns about the global outlook.
Elsewhere Wednesday, the yen hit a nine-month high after a Bank of Japan official hinted at more monetary tightening.
The Japanese unit was boosted also by bets on a Harris presidency after she was considered to have come out on top in her debate with Trump and following her endorsement by superstar Taylor Swift.
The chances of Trump losing weighed on bitcoin after he had previously vowed to be a "pro-bitcoin president" if elected in November.
- Key figures around 1330 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 40,538.79 points
New York - S&P 500: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 5,490.76
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 17,061.72
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 8,231.46
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 7,437.36
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 18,393.78
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.5 percent at 35,619.77 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.7 percent at 17,108.71 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 2,721.80 (close)
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 142.31 yen from 142.44 yen on Tuesday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1017 from $1.1023
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3057 from $1.3083
Euro/pound: UP at 84.38 pence from 84.25 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.8 percent at $70.43 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.2 percent at $67.13 per barrel
burs-rl/lth
F.Dubois--AMWN