- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
Stocks slide as investors weigh slowing US inflation
US stocks fell on Wednesday as consumer inflation data fuelled debate about the size of an expected Federal Reserve interest-rate cut next week and the outlook for further cuts.
Investors were also digesting the US presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump.
Eagerly awaited data released on Wednesday showed the US consumer price index (CPI) had 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 that 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 a 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.
It held steady at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in August.
"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.
XTB brokerage research director Kathleen Brooks said Wednesday's inflation data "also complicates the outlook for rate cuts further in the future".
While the data supports the Fed beginning to cut interest rates, "does it justify the 10 rate cuts that are currently priced in by the Fed Funds market over the next nine months?"
Recent economic data has also fuelled debate 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 on 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 on 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 pop 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.
Paris and Frankfurt stocks diverged ahead of an expected interest rate cut on Thursday, with Frankfurt boosted by a more than 16 percent surge in Commerzbank shares after Italian rival UniCredit announced it had acquired a nine percent stake.
Sentiment in London was dented by official data showing Britain's economy stalled in July.
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.
- Key figures around 1530 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.4 percent at 40,175.24 points
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 1.2 percent at 5,431.32
New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 16,899.39
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,193.94 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,396.83 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 18,330.27 (close)
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 141.42 yen from 142.44 yen on Tuesday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1015 from $1.1023
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3023 from $1.3083
Euro/pound: UP at 84.59 pence from 84.25 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.6 percent at $70.28 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.0 percent at $67.08 per barrel
burs-rl/bc
P.Mathewson--AMWN