LONDON: European stock markets mostly rebounded on Wednesday, as investors looked ahead to minutes from the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting for clues on future interest rate hikes.
Most Asian stock markets closed lower, tracking the end of a record streak on Wall Street as concerns lingered over the economic recovery and China's widening crackdown on tech firms.
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Traders are looking to see if strong inflation caused by the reopening of economies will push the Fed and other central banks to tighten borrowing costs sooner than expected, which in turn could slow the recovery.
"Investors should keep in mind that the Fed's latest meeting minutes are set to be released today," noted Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade.
The minutes might "provide hints of potential changes in the monetary policy in the short term. Having said that, the minutes are expected to stay dovish as inflation remains under control and the (US) labour market grows at a sustainable pace", he added.
Elsewhere, oil prices rallied after a volatile session Tuesday as OPEC+ crude producers failed to agree on a proposal to boost crude supply.
OPEC+ abandons oil policy meeting after Saudi-UAE clash
In Asian stocks trading, Shanghai closed higher but Hong Kong fell, with concerns over China's removal of the ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing from app stores.
Didi shares plunged nearly 20 percent on Wall Street Tuesday after Chinese authorities raised national security concerns over the popular app, hinting at an expansion of oversight over tech firms after years of light-touch regulation.
"You could say that the last decade has been regulatory-free for the Chinese companies," said Winston Ma, an adjunct professor at New York University.
"Now they are entering into a new era."
Shares in Chinese electric car maker XPeng -- already listed on the Nasdaq -- meanwhile debuted in Hong Kong Wednesday under the cloud of that crackdown, following a $1.8 billion initial public offer (IPO).
In Europe, British financial technology firm Wise entered the London stock market, valued at £8.0 billion ($11.1 billion, 9.3 billion euros), in a key post-Brexit test for the sector.
Key figures at 1115 GMT
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,130.69 points
Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.9 percent at 15,645.14
Paris - CAC 40: FLAT at 6,508.20
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.4 percent at 4,069.68
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 28,366.95 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.4 percent at 27,960.62 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,553.72 (close)
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 34,577.37 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at 1.1820 from 1.1817
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3828 from $1.3792
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.50 pence from 85.67 pence
Dollar/yen: FLAT at 110.72 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.7 percent at $75.77 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.7 percent at $74.60 per barrel
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