U.S. STOCK MARKETS

U.S. stocks finished a tumultuous day of trading a touch lower, as investors were whipsawed by the latest Federal Reserve policy statement and a raft of trading irregularities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 32.55 points, or 0.25%, to 12976.13 after the Fed's statement.

Before the announcement, the blue-chip Dow had been up about 30 points. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index dropped 4.00 points, or 0.29%, to 1375.32. The Nasdaq Composite lost 19.31 points, or 0.66%, to 2920.21.

Leading the declines were utilities and industrial stocks. Hewlett-Packard led the Dow decliners, falling 3.2%, while Caterpillar, Bank of America and American Express all stumbled by 1.5% or more.

Some investors were disappointed by the Fed's decision to hold steady for the time being on its interest-rate policy. These investors had expected Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to announce new stimulus measures after the central bank acknowledged that U.S. economic growth has "decelerated" and said that the Fed was prepared to take further action.

Others, however, were skeptical that the Fed would act. Some investors, however, were doubtful that central bankers could do much to fix the deep-seated issues investors are facing. The Fed's moves were overshadowed in part by tumult in 148 securities listed on the New York Stock Exchange, many of which swung sharply in the first hour of trading.

Knight Capital Group tumbled as traders scrambled to cope with uncertainty over irregular stock-price movements. Some traders and investors said the problems appeared to be tied to Knight, and the trading firm said it was looking into the movements.

Also in the mix were a set of muddled readings on the U.S. economy in July. A total of 163,000 new private-sector jobs were added last month, topping expectations, but the U.S. manufacturing sector contracted for a second straight month.

The weak U.S. manufacturing number came on the heels of similar declines in China, Australia and the Euro zone. U.S. construction spending, meanwhile, fell in line with expectations.

In corporate news, MasterCard fell 2.1% after the credit-card company topped earnings expectations after a previously disclosed pretax charge but missed on revenue estimates.

Avon Products dropped 1.2% after the beauty products seller reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that fell a bit shy of analyst estimates. Facebook continued its slide, falling 3.8% to end at a fresh all-time low close.

EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS, BONDS

European stock markets ended mostly higher Wednesday ahead of a keenly awaited policy announcement from the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the session and a meeting of European Central Bank policy makers Thursday, but weak manufacturing data and comments from Germany's Bundesbank kept the bulls in check.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index added 0.5% to close at 262.57. The index extended gains after Automatic Data Processing Inc. data showed an addition of 163,000 jobs in July.

Among notable movers in Europe, Nokia Corp. jumped 6.2%. News reports Tuesday indicated that Chief Executive Stephen Elop and several board members had bought more than 1 million Nokia shares last week; a company spokesperson confirmed the reports.

Shares of Standard Chartered PLC rose 3.6% after first-half profit rose 12% to a record level. The broader stock market also climbed, as investors cautiously looked toward the latest monetary-policy announcement from the Fed, hoping for hints or pledges of action to underpin a sputtering U.S. economic recovery.

Thursday, the ECB will take center stage as it also announces its policy decision, with mixed expectations that it will move to ease the pressure in Europe.

Commerzbank's Mr. Dolleschal doesn't see any major shift in monetary policy at the meeting at this point which he said would leave stock markets heading for the gutter.

European markets pared morning gains as Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said in an interview posted on the bank's website that the ECB should remain aware that its independence requires it to respect and not overstep its own mandate. The comments took the air out of Spanish stocks.

The IBEX 35 index dropped 0.3% to 6,720.00, as BBVA SA slipped 0.8%. Also holding investors' attention, a survey on euro-zone manufacturing activity provided further downbeat evidence, with the Markit purchasing-manager index dropping to 44 in July a 37-month low. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.

A U.K. purchasing managers' index also showed activity shrank at a faster pace in July. In France, BNP Paribas SA added 1.8%, while peer bank Societe Generale SA recovered from earlier losses to rise 0.5% after a worse-than-expected earnings report.

The CAC 40 index rose 0.9% to 3,321.56. Germany's DAX 30 index slipped 0.3% to 6,754.46.

Shares of BMW AG lost 2.9% after second-quarter profit fell 28%, partly due to higher costs. Daimler AG dropped 1.4%. In the U.K., Standard Chartered and HSBC Holdings PLC supported the FTSE 100, with the index adding 1.4% to 5,712.82. HSBC's shares advanced 1.3%. Shares of heavyweight Vodafone Group PLC rose 3.3%.

ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS

Asian stock markets ended mixed Wednesday after data showed manufacturing activity deteriorated in several countries in the region, with caution also setting in ahead of this week's monetary policy decisions in the U.S. and Europe.

Mainland Chinese stocks rebounded amid expectations that Beijing may further relax its policies, and after the country's securities regulator encouraged listed firms to buy back shares.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.6%, South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.1% and Taiwan's Taiex ended marginally lower.

China's Shanghai Composite Index, which finished at its lowest level since March 2009 in the previous session, climbed 0.9%, providing a lift to shares of mainland firms traded in Hong Kong.

The Hang Seng Index ended 0.1% higher. The advance for Chinese stocks came as an official at the China Securities Regulatory Commission was quoted as saying by Xinhua news service that investors may have overestimated the economic slowdown in the country.

The official also reportedly encouraged cash-rich listed companies to buy back their own shares. The mainland markets were also supported by speculation that Beijing may this week introduce more monetary easing measures, such as a reduction in banks' reserve requirement ratios.

Purchasing Managers' Index data released earlier in the day by HSBC and China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing led to calls for further monetary easing from Beijing to support the economy.

HSBC's final PMI for July came in at 49.3, up from 48.2 in June but below the 50-point threshold that separates expansion and contraction.

The CFLP data put the July PMI at 50.1, above the 50-point mark, but below the 50.2 level seen in June and also lower than expectations.

Monthly manufacturing indicators also weakened in South Korea, Taiwan and India.

In Shanghai, shares of railway, construction-related and miners advanced, with China Railway Erju Co. soaring 8.4%, Anhui Conch Cement Co. climbing 3.4% and Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Group jumping 4.8%. Earnings-related moves weighed in Tokyo.

Machinery firm Komatsu Ltd. dropped 7.1% after lowering its fiscal-year operating profit and sales outlook, and after a senior company executive said it faced extremely tough competition in China. Auto maker Honda Motor Co. fell 5.7% as it maintained its operating profit and sales outlook despite posting a more than fourfold jump in quarterly profit. Panasonic Corp. stock jumped 8.1% after swinging back to a quarterly profit.

COMMODITIES

Base metals closed lower on the London Metal Exchange Wednesday, falling to multiday lows for some metals as investors grow nervous that rising hopes of a U.S. stimulus package may be premature, analysts said.

At the close, LME three-month copper was down 1.8% at $7,425 a metric ton. Lead was down 1.8% at $1,884/ton. Oil futures prices ended higher Wednesday, but gave up their steepest intraday gains after the Federal Reserve held back from announcing any fresh steps to stimulate the U.S. economy.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery settled 85 cents, or 1%, higher at $88.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange recently settled $1.04, or 1%, higher at $105.96 a barrel.

Nymex crude had risen as high as $89.47 a barrel intraday, buoyed by a report showing a steep drop in U.S. oil inventories. Gold futures pared losses in after-market trading as investors sifted through the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated policy statement.

Prices had slumped below $1,600 amid disappointment that the central bank opted to hold back from disclosing immediate stimulus actions, but climbed back above that level as investors reviewed the details of the Fed's disclosure.

Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, was down $10.90, or 0.7%, at $1,603.70 a troy ounce in electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It had settled down $7.30, or 0.5%, at $1,607.30. Compiled from MORRISON SECURITIES PTY LTD.