Stock markets around the world were little changed yesterday as investors refrained from placing big bets ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting that could adjust expectations about how soon the US Central Bank will hike interest rates.

Speculation that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates sooner and faster than previously predicted has supported the US dollar and pressured equities of late, though US indexes remain near record levels.

Wall Street stocks rose modestly on the day, while an index of European shares fell 0.4 per cent as this week’s referendum on independence in Scotland kept investors on edge with polls suggesting the vote remains too close to call.

The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 45 countries, was unchanged on the day, recovering off a one-month low earlier.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.89 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 17,033.03, the S&P 500 gained 3.32 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 1,987.45 and the Nasdaq Composite added 4.79 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 4,523.69. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 3/32 in price to yield 2.5815 per cent.

Asian shares slipped, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shedding 0.7 per cent to its lowest since late June, while Japan’s Nikkei snapped a five-session winning streak to close down 0.2 per cent.

The Fed began its two-day policy meeting later yesterday, and investors will be scanning the outcome for clues on the timing of the first rate hike in more than eight years. The Fed will also release economic and interest rate projections, extending their forecast horizon through 2017.

It has said it does not expect to raise rates until 2015, but recent strong data has led Fed officials to acknowledge they may need to act sooner than they thought just a few months ago.

In the currency market, the dollar index, which hit a 14-month peak on September 9 and is on its longest weekly winning streak since 1997, was little changed at 84.21.

The euro held steady at $1.2937, hemmed in a $1.2859-$1.2980 range after a sell-off sparked by the European Central Bank’s interest rate cut early this month faded.

Brent crude rose 1.1 per cent to $98.98 per barrel, while US crude futures gained one per cent at $93.80 per barrel, rising on the prospect of a likely supply cut from Opec.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.