Major global stock markets and Wall Street futures advanced on Wednesday as traders prepared for a possible sharp interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve to cool surging inflation.
London and Frankfurt opened higher. Tokyo and Sydney gained while Shanghai declined. Oil prices rose.
The Fed on Wednesday is expected to announce an increase of up to three-quarters of a percentage point in its benchmark interest rate, triple its usual margin.
Investors worry such aggressive action by the Fed and other central banks in Europe and Asia to control inflation that is at multi-decade highs might derail global economic growth.
