ECONOMY & MARKETS

Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday as investors absorbed the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting, which offered new clues on the central bank's rate policy and inflation fight.

U.S. stock indexes slipped on Wednesday as investors awaited minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting to gauge the health of the economy and the pace of interest rate hikes to stamp out spiking inflation.

U.S. stock indexes dipped on Wednesday after edging briefly higher in the wake of the publication of the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting, which investors had been waiting on for clues on the central bank's rate policy and inflation fight.

U.S. stock indexes endured topsy-turvy trading on Wednesday but were broadly flat heading into the Federal Reserve publishing the minutes from its latest meeting, as investors awaited new clues on the central bank's rate policy and inflation fight.

U.S. stock indexes slipped on Wednesday as investors awaited minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting to gauge the health of the economy and the pace of interest rate hikes to stamp out spiking inflation.

Hopes that the Polish central bank's monetary policy tightening cycle may be nearing its end could be shattered by government policies aiming to support domestic demand and ease the pain of inflation in a pre-election year, economists say.

If history is any indicator of the future, the first two weeks of July could bring relief to investors after a bruising first half of the year.

Activity in Britain's construction sector slowed sharply last month, with the weakest expansion since September 2021, as fears for the economic outlook caused house-building to contract for the first time since early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill warned on Wednesday that Britain's economy would slow to a crawl over the next 12 months and repeated his preference for a "steady-handed" approach to raising interest rates.

U.S. stocks and oil looked to hold steady after steeper losses earlier in the week, as investors processed recession fears and awaited new policy hints from the Federal Reserve.

Tentative calm returned to global markets on Wednesday, with the recession-obsessed euro slumped at a two-decade low, stocks inching higher and oil back above $100 a barrel following a near 10% plunge a day earlier.

Asian stocks slipped and the dollar stood by a two-decade high on the euro on Wednesday as investors' fears deepened that the continent is leading the world into recession, while oil and European equity futures attempted to steady after a slide.

Gold extended its selloff to an over nine-month low on Wednesday hurt by a stronger dollar, while the Federal Reserve's June meeting minutes established a more "restrictive" monetary policy.

Gold prices staged a slight recovery on Wednesday as some investors resorted to bargain hunting after a more than 2% fall in the previous session, while focus was also on minutes of the U.S.

Gold hovered near a fresh seven-month low on Wednesday, with the dollar perched at a two-decade peak, as investors continued to snub bullion and look to the greenback for safety amid growing anguish over a worsening global economic outlook.

Gold found temporary respite on Wednesday after touching a near seven-month low in the previous session, as the dollar paused for breath after a blistering surge to 20-year highs.

Oil prices slid about 2% to a 12-week low in volatile trade on Wednesday, extending the prior session's heavy losses as investors grew more worried energy demand would take a hit in a potential global recession.

Oil prices fell in volatile trading on Wednesday, extending Tuesday's heavy losses as growing fears of a global recession outweighed supply concerns.

Crude oil futures rose nearly 3% on Wednesday as investors piled back in after the heavy rout in the previous session, shifting their focus again to supply concerns even as worries about a recession mounted.

Oil prices rose as much as nearly 3% on Wednesday before paring some gains as investors piled back into the market after a heavy rout in the previous session, with supply concerns returning to the fore even as worries about a global recession linger.

For months, Kazumi Sato, a nutritionist at a middle school in eastern Tokyo, has received notices about hikes in ingredient prices.

The rising cost of living is turning into a thorny political issue ahead of Japan's upper house election this weekend, as opposition parties peg blame for recent price hikes on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's policies.

Britain's new finance minister Nadhim Zahawi takes the reins of an economy struggling under the strain of nearly double-digit inflation and a slowdown that looks set to be more severe than in most of the world's other big nations.

U.S. President Joe Biden's team is still looking at options on whether to cut tariffs on Chinese imports to ease inflation, the White House said on Tuesday as industry requests to maintain the duties mounted.

Argentina's economy minister Silvina Batakis took office on Monday after the abrupt resignation of her predecessor threw the government and markets into disarray.

Argentina's long-suffering investors tore into the country's chaotic politics on Monday after the architect of its IMF programme, economy minister Martin Guzman, quit and was replaced by someone seen as close to the powerful vice president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

Argentina's closely watched black market peso rebounded on Tuesday from record lows as the country's new economy minister moved to calm markets, though sovereign bonds plunged amid wider fears about economic crisis and default.

Argentina's closely watched black market peso rose more than 1% to 257 per dollar on Tuesday, traders said, recovering ground after crashing a day earlier as the country's new economy minister pledged fiscal responsibility and stability.

Industrial output in Brazil rose 0.3% in May from April, government statistics agency IBGE said on Tuesday, the fourth consecutive monthly increase but below market expectations of a 0.7% rise.