Sawt Falasteen - Stocks rise ahead of Fed meeting; Yen rallies

All three major US stock indexes were higher in opening deals, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way.

Meanwhile, the yen rallied after the Bank of Japan hiked interest rates for just the second time in 17 years, while oil prices jumped on renewed tensions in the Middle East.

Federal Reserve policy makers are expected to keep their interest rates at a two-decade high at their meeting Wednesday.

But traders will be watch for hints about a September reduction during the press conference following the meeting.

"Tonight's press conference from Fed Chair Jerome Powell may provide a catalyst for the next move," said David Morrison, analyst at Trade Nation. "The probability of a 50 basis point cut in September, rather than 25 basis points, has been rising of late."

Hiring in the US private sector decelerated unexpectedly in July and pay gains slowed, bolstering the argument for rate cuts.

"The key takeaway from the report is that it connotes a slowdown in private-sector hiring and pay, which is the right mix for furthering the market's belief that the Fed will cut rates in September," said Patrick O'Hare, an analyst at Briefing.com.

Eurozone inflation popped upwards in July, but investors are still pricing in another rate cut from the European Central Bank in September.

Shares were higher in Paris and Frankfurt, as well as London.

Investors were also tracking corporate results.

Late Tuesday, Microsoft said its quarterly profit rose but its cloud computing unit fell short. Its shares were down 1.6 percent in early deals Wednesday.

Microsoft's report came after results last week from Tesla and Alphabet missed forecasts, fuelling concerns about the tech titans that have led a rally in markets this year.

But Nvidia was 10 percent higher shortly after the opening, boosted by positive earnings from fellow chip-makers.

More reports are due this week from tech giants Apple, Amazon and Facebook-parent Meta.

In Tokyo, the Bank of Japan's rate increase pushed the yen to strengthen to near 150 against the dollar, a level last seen in March.

"The rate hike was not a complete surprise but, being only the second interest rate increase in 17 years, it delivers a clear hawkish message," said ActivTrades analyst Ricardo Evangelista.

Many commentators had predicted the bank would stand pat this month, but Japan's newly appointed top foreign exchange official said the benefits of a weaker yen were outweighed by the demerits.

The yen's advance comes just weeks after it hit a nearly four-decade low at about 162 at the start of July, further fuelling domestic inflation.

Japan's finance ministry said Wednesday it spent 5.5 trillion yen to boost the yen's value by intervening in forex markets between June 27 and July 29.

The Nikkei 225 bounced back from morning losses on Wednesday after the announcement and finished more than one percent higher.

Oil has been weaker in recent sessions on concern about Chinese economic demand, but jumped Wednesday after Israel appeared to have assassinated leaders from both Hamas and Hezbollah.

But Trade Nation's Morrison said oil's gains could be short-lived because while unsettling, the killings do not directly endanger petroleum supplies.

- Key figures around 1340 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 40,769.05

New York - S&P 500: UP 1.2 percent at 5,501.97

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.9 percent at 17,464.90

London - FTSE 100: UP 1.1 percent at 8,364.12 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 7,539.79

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 18,488.40

Euro STOXX 50: UP 0.7 percent at 4,872.95

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.5 percent at 39,101.82 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.0 percent at 17,344.60 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 2.1 percent at 2,983.75 (close)

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 150.16 yen from 153.09 yen on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2851 from $1.2832

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0848 from $1.0813

Euro/pound: UP at 84.41 pence from 84.24 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.9 percent at $76.87 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.4 percent at $80.55 per barrel

Z.Ramadan--SF-PST