- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- 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
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs
Stocks waver before Fed testimony on US economy
Stock markets wobbled on Tuesday as traders awaited fresh clues on future US interest rate hikes from the head of the Federal Reserve.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday begins two days of testimony before the US Congress, where he will be pressed about the central bank's efforts to cool high inflation.
Investors are looking for a clearer idea on when the Fed may pause its rate-tightening cycle, which aims to cut soaring prices but could also tip the economy into recession.
"Nothing matters more to the stock market these days than the direction of interest rates," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
Wall Street opened mixed, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq rising, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell and S&P 500 was flat.
In Europe, London's FTSE 100 rose while the Paris CAC 40 was flat and the Frankfurt DAX retreated despite official data showing industrial orders in Germany climbed for a second straight month in January.
The Fed raised rates by 25 basis point last month after a half-point increase in December that followed a series of three-quarter hikes.
"At present, the market is pricing in three more rate rises this year, including a 0.25-percent hike later this month, but any increase in hawkish rhetoric would likely spell danger for equity markets," said Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.
While analysts are betting on the United States and other major economies possibly avoiding recession despite inflation remaining elevated, there are concerns over China after the world's second-biggest economy set a lower-than-expected target for its growth this year.
Following Powell's testimony, attention will switch to US jobs data for February that is due Friday.
That comes after January's reading showed more than half a million new jobs were created, far more than expected.
"The key focus will be on how Powell sees the US labour market, and whether the... (policy board) think that economic conditions have improved or deteriorated since the last Fed meeting," said Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.
"If he acknowledges that inflation could be much stickier than the Fed thought over a month ago, that could prompt a pullback in US equity markets."
In Asia, Hong Kong and Shanghai ended down as data showed Chinese imports and exports fell in January and February.
- Key figures around 1440 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 33.404,04 points
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,938.58
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.2 percent at 15,626.48
Paris - CAC 40: FLAT at 7,375.60
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.3 percent at 4,303.14
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 28,309.16 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 20,534.48 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.1 percent at 3,285.10 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0646 from $1.0684 on Monday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.1976 from $1.2023
Euro/pound: UP at 88.89 pence from 88.84 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 136.32 yen from 135.95 yen
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.4 percent at $80.14 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $85.84 per barrel
Ng.A.Adebayo--CPN