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| - Global stock markets struggled Wednesday ahead of a US Federal Reserve policy decision as investors lost their appetite for risk that had fuelled a recent rally as coronavirus lockdowns eased. Europe jumped out of the blocks at the open, but swiftly fell back as caution prevailed before the conclusion of the Fed's latest monetary policy gathering. Earlier, Asia had already turned in a subdued performance. Wall Street also opened on tip toes, as nervous punters tried to guess the US central bank's next moves. The meeting "could well be pivotal in deciding whether markets continue to rally," said Scope Markets analyst James Hughes. "The Fed has thrown an unprecedented amount of stimulus at the US economy over the last three months, and what Chairman Jerome Powell says will impact the direction of global markets." Most observers did not expect any rate easing after the Fed pledged vast sums of cash as a backstop to financial markets, but some action was likely. "The Fed orchestrated this market recovery, and (is) now set to offer its latest thoughts, estimates and, hopefully for market sentiment, an actionable go-forward plan," said AxiCorp's Stephen Innes. In recent weeks, global markets had fizzed higher on the back of economic recovery hopes. But the OECD on Wednesday warned that the world economy would shrink by at least six percent this year, with an unprecedented loss of income and "extraordinary uncertainty" caused by measures to contain the deadly coronavirus outbreak. In the case of a second wave of COVID-19 later in the year, economic output could shrink by as much as 7.6 percent, according to the OECD which added that the recovery will be "slow and uncertain". While the World Health Organization said a record number of new virus cases were registered globally on Monday -- with Latin America, India and Russia heavily affected -- European nations pressed ahead with easing strict lockdowns. London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 6,370.73 points Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.1 percent at 12,611.19 Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 5,091.27 EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,315.67 New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 27,241.71 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 23,124.94 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: FLAT at 25,049.73 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 2,943.75 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1378 from $1.1340 at 2100 GMT Dollar/yen: DOWN at 107.31 yen from 107.76 yen Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2782 from $1.2728 Euro/pound: DOWN at 89.01 pence from 89.10 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.4 percent at $38.01 per barrel Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 2.0 percent at $40.36 per barrel burs/jh/cdw
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