- Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force
- Thousands attend Christmas charity dinner in Buenos Aires
- Demand for Japanese content booms post 'Shogun'
- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun
- Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Global stocks mostly rise after US tech rally
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
- Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
- US panel could not reach consensus on US-Japan steel deal: Nippon
- The real-life violence that inspired South Korea's 'Squid Game'
- El Salvador Congress votes to end ban on metal mining
- Five things to know about Panama Canal, in Trump's sights
- Mixed day for global stocks as market hopes for 'Santa Claus rally'
- Trump's TikTok love raises stakes in battle over app's fate
- European, US markets wobble awaiting Santa rally
- NASA solar probe to make its closest ever pass of Sun
- Volkswagen boss hails cost-cutting deal but shares fall
- Sweden says China blocked prosecutors' probe of ship linked to cut cables
- UK economy stagnant in third quarter in fresh setback
- Global stock markets edge higher as US inflation eases rate fears
- US probes China chip industry on 'anticompetitive' concerns
- Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience
- Honda and Nissan to launch merger talks
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate fears
- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Beyond Work Unveils Next-Generation Memory-Augmented AI Agent (MATRIX) for Enterprise Document Intelligence
- Sweet smell of success for niche perfumes
- 'Finally, we made it!': Ho Chi Minh City celebrates first metro
- Tunisia women herb harvesters struggle with drought and heat
- Trump threatens to take back control of Panama Canal
- Secretive game developer codes hit 'Balatro' in Canadian prairie province
- Stellantis backtracks on plan to lay off 1,100 at US Jeep plant
- Banned Russian skater Valieva stars at Moscow ice gala
- Biden signs funding bill to avert government shutdown
- Sorrow and fury in German town after Christmas market attack
- France's most powerful nuclear reactor finally comes on stream
- Sierra Leone student tackles toxic air pollution
- Amazon says US strike caused 'no disruptions'
- Qualcomm scores key win in licensing dispute with Arm
- Scientists observe 'negative time' in quantum experiments
- US approves first drug treatment for sleep apnea
- Amazon expects no disruptions as US strike goes into 2nd day
- US confirms billions in chips funds to Samsung, Texas Instruments
- Wall Street rebounds despite US inflation ticking higher
Stock steady, dollar climbs before Fed rate decision
Stock markets moved sideways while the dollar edged higher against main rivals Wednesday with the US Federal Reserve expected to cut interest rates.
Shares in Nissan soared more than 20 percent on reports that the Japanese car titan is in merger talks with rival Honda.
The Fed is widely expected to cut borrowing costs for a third time in a row when it concludes its gathering Wednesday, trimming them by 25 basis points, leaving traders to focus on its statement for clues over the outlook.
"The most important thing from the Fed's meeting will be comments on monetary policy in 2025 as the market is starting to fret about future rate cuts being less frequent," noted Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
With US inflation coming down, decision-makers have been able to loosen their grip on policy since September.
However, with Donald Trump set to re-enter the White House next month -- pledging tax cuts, deregulation and tariffs on imports from China -- there are fears prices could reignite, forcing the Fed to re-evaluate its rates timetable.
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said the market was bracing for Fed chair Jerome Powell to indicate it was unlikely to cut rates again in January.
"The questions are, just how long might any pause last and how might that translate in terms of total rate cuts in 2025," he said.
The Fed is also set to release its latest Summary of Economic Projections, and O'Hare noted that the previous version had suggested rates might come down by 100 basis points in 2025.
Across the Atlantic, official data Wednesday showed UK inflation had picked up in November, firming expectations that the Bank of England will hold off cutting its key interest rate on Thursday.
With annual inflation rising as expected to 2.6 percent, the pound also steadied.
Traders were also waiting for the conclusion of the Bank of Japan's policy meeting Thursday.
Chinese stock markets and oil prices gained on hopes of more stimulus to boost China's flagging economy.
In the car sector, Nissan shares soared, while Honda fell about three percent. Mitsubishi Motors -- whose top stakeholder is Nissan -- accelerated almost 20 percent.
Elsewhere on the corporate front UniCredit, Italy's second-largest bank, increased its stake in Germany's Commerzbank to around 28 percent amid growing speculation of an attempted buyout.
UniCredit's shares rose by 1.4 percent in afternoon trading, while those in Commerzbank climbed 2.3 percent.
- Key figures around 1430 GMT -
New York - Dow: FLAT at 43,465.28 points
New York - S&P 500: FLAT at 6,048.06
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP less than 0.1 percent at 20,124.11
London - FTSE 100: UP less than 0.1 percent at 8,201.17
Paris - CAC 40: UP less than 0.1 percent at 7,370.91
Frankfurt - DAX: FLAT at 20,252.26
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 39,081.71 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 19,864.55 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3,382.21 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0490 at $1.0498
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2695 from $1.2707
Dollar/yen: UP at 153.83 yen from 153.41 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 82.62 pence from 82.52 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $73.59 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $70.59 per barrel
burs-rl/jj
A.Leibowitz--CPN