Wall Street stocks dipped early Wednesday ahead of a Federal Reserve policy decision that will signal whether the U.S. central bank plans to accelerate its pace of interest rate hikes.

A Riyadh gold souk festooned with glittering jewellery has run short of salesmen after a government edict to replace foreign workers with Saudis, part of contentious efforts to tackle high unemployment.

Energy firms in Asia rose on the back of a rush into oil after data indicated a jump in US demand, but regional markets struggled to maintain early upward momentum ahead of a crucial Federal Reserve policy meeting later in the day.

Egypt's administrative court issued a ruling on Tuesday stopping the operations of Uber and Careem, state media reported, although both ride-sharing apps said their services were not suspended.

The United States is not seeking a trade war over tariffs but does not fear one, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday at the end of a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Argentina.

Qatar Petroleum aims to boost Doha's gas production by more than 20 percent with a contract awarded to Japanese Chiyoda, the state-owned energy giant has said.

Saudi Arabia plans to sell shares of Saudi Aramco on a local exchange and may scuttle entirely an earlier plan for an overseas listing, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

The sharp morning sell-off in Asian markets Tuesday eased later in the day but investors remain on edge ahead of a key Federal Reserve policy meeting.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called on the United States Tuesday to not act "emotionally" and to avoid a trade war, as President Donald Trump considers new punitive measures against Beijing.

Britain should go further on tightening gambling laws to protect the most vulnerable by slashing the maximum stakes on popular betting machines by more than two thirds, regulators said Monday.