Global markets recouped some of their recent losses on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to pivotal meetings by economic policymakers trying to rein in inflation without denting economic growth or destabilizing markets.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose nearly 1 percent, bouncing off a five-day losing streak that had left the index in a bear market.
The main event of the day is the meeting of the Federal Reserve, which is expected to discuss raising its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a point, which would be the biggest increase since 1994.
But the European Central Bank unexpectedly got in on the action, calling an unscheduled meeting on Wednesday to discuss market conditions. The borrowing costs of eurozone countries have diverged sharply in recent weeks, leading to so-called fragmentation that Christine Lagarde, the E.C.B. president, said last week the bank would “not tolerate.” The bank said it was taking steps to fend off spiraling borrowing costs in some highly indebted European countries, including a move to “accelerate” the design of a new tool to combat fragmentation, without providing more details.
Many European stock and bond markets rallied on news of the E.C.B. meeting. The Stoxx 600 index was up 1.8 percent and Italian bond prices jumped, lowering yields that had soared recently.
Earlier in the day most Asian markets gained ground, with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gaining 1.1 percent and the Shanghai Composite in China up 0.5 percent, though the Nikkei in Japan closed 1.1 percent lower.
