Global markets subdued ahead of Fed rate decision

ANKARA

Trading was subdued on most stock exchanges in Asia and Europe on Thursday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision due at 2 p.m. local time (18:00GMT).

The Fed's announcement is anxiously awaited as a move to hike rates could mean large outflows of funds from many countries and market turmoil, as the World Bank’s chief economist warned in the Financial Times newspaper on Sept. 9.

The Fed is expected to raise rates 0.25 percent should it decide on a increase.

The Federal Open Market Committee is reportedly split with at least half of its 15 members in favor of a rise. However, economist forecasts are divided - 50 percent predict a hike while the other half expect no change.

There was little change on South Korea’s Kospi while Japan's Nikkei index improved 1.4 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.9 percent and Australia’s S&P 200 gained 0.96 percent.

Trading volumes were subdued on all exchanges. In Tokyo, volume was 24 percent below the 30-day average, according to exchange statistics.

Futures indicate a slightly higher opening for the Frankfurt and Paris exchanges. Germany's DAX Index futures were up 41 points and Paris' CAC 40 futures were 19 points higher.

Borsa Istanbul was down a slight 0.13 percent at the open. The Turkish lira was steady at about 3.03 against the dollar.

The euro and the yen were hardly changed against the U.S. currency.

Exchanges in the U.S. closed flat Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.8 percent, Standard & Poor's 500 index improved 0.9 percent and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.6 percent. Trading volume on the Nasdaq was a light 1.6 million trades.