London — World stocks eked out a new record high on Wednesday and the dollar dipped against its major rivals with the focus on a US Federal Reserve policy meeting that may give clues as to whether it will raise interest rates for a third time this year. European shares opened lower after a slight rise on Asian bourses was enough to push MSCI’s World index, which tracks stocks in 46 countries, fractionally higher to a new record. However, with the Fed due to unveil its policy decision and economic forecasts at 6pm GMT, caution prevailed. There was little follow-through from US President Donald Trump’s bellicose rhetoric over North Korea on Tuesday. The dollar fell less than 0.1% against a basket of major currencies and was down against the euro, the yen and sterling. The Fed is likely to say it will start to cut its holdings of about $4.2-trillion in bonds and mortgage-backed securities next month. Its forecasts and a news conference by chairperson Janet Yellen will be scoured for cl...
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