- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- 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 Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
Stocks waver as Fed rate looms, oil soars on EU embargo
Global stock markets wavered on Wednesday as investors braced for an expected half-point interest rate hike from the inflation-fighting US Federal Reserve.
Oil prices rebounded sharply after the European Commission proposed a gradual ban on Russian crude over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
European stocks mostly edged lower in mid-afternoon trading, after a broadly downbeat session in Asia, although key bourses including Shanghai and Tokyo remained shut.
On Wall Street, stocks were little changed, with all eyes on the Fed's policy decision slated for later Wednesday.
"Moreover, sentiment continues to be hampered by the persistent war in Ukraine, the recent jump in interest rates, the rise in the US dollar and the economic impact of the Covid lockdowns in China," analysts for Charles Schwab said in a note.
The dollar drifted lower versus the euro and yen.
- Trading 'cautiously' -
"Stocks across Europe are trading cautiously ahead of today's Fed announcement," City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta told AFP.
"Stock markets often fall in reaction to rising interest rates because the cost of borrowing becomes more expensive and earnings and growth slows."
The Fed is forecast to unveil a half-percentage-point interest rate hike -- its biggest increase since 2000 -- as global central banks race to tame galloping inflation in the wake of the Ukraine war.
The announcement is due one day before the Bank of England is also predicted to deliver a hike.
India's central bank unexpectedly ramped up its key rate by 40 basis points to 4.4 percent on Wednesday.
Policymakers are seeking to tackle runaway prices but risk damaging global economic recovery from the pandemic.
Investor sentiment also remains dogged by fallout from Russia's ongoing Ukraine invasion, which has fuelled bumper gains for many raw materials including crude.
That has, in turn, sent inflation accelerating to multi-decade highs in nations including Britain and the United States.
Oil jumped more than four percent after the latest EU crackdown on Russia, which is a major producer of crude.
"We now propose a ban on Russian oil. This will be a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined," European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament.
But, she added, "we will make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion", with crude banned gradually over the next six months and refined fuels by the end of the year.
Hungary, however, warned it could not vote for the ban "in this form". The country is highly dependent on Russian crude.
The EU executive also proposed excluding Russian bank Sberbank from the SWIFT network among its measures.
- 'EU tightens screw' -
"As the EU tightens the sanctions screw on Russia by bringing in a phased ban on its crude oil, worries about global supply have reared up again," said Susannah Streeter, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"The price of the benchmark Brent scurried up ... to above $108 a barrel after the toughened up stance emerged."
Oil traders were already on tenterhooks before Thursday's gathering of OPEC and other key producers including Russia, who will discuss whether or not to lift output more than expected.
- Key figures at around 1335 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,535.22 points
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 14,062.97
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 6,448.77
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,755.11
New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 33,185.53
Brent North Sea crude: UP 4.4 percent at $109.60 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 4.7 percent at $107.26 per barrel
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 20,869.52 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday
Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0544 from $1.0521 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2500 from $1.2499
Euro/pound: UP at 84.34 pence from 84.18 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 130.01 yen from 130.14 yen
J.V.Jacinto--PC