Global stocks were mixed Wednesday as investors looked ahead to a Federal Reserve gathering for an update on U.S. stimulus.

London and Frankfurt advanced in early trading while Tokyo, Hong Kong and Paris declined.

Iceland's central bank lifted it main interest rate on Wednesday, its second increase in three months, as tourists begin to return and boost the economic recovery.

The 0.25 percentage point increase took the island nation's key rate to 1.25 percent.

A White House cybersecurity gathering including Big Tech executives was set Wednesday to unveil steps aimed at improving cybersecurity following high-profile attacks which raised questions about the vulnerability of so-called critical infrastructure.

President Joe Biden and key cabinet officials were to host the chief executives of Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft along with leaders from the finance and utilities sectors, a senior administration official said.

Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk said Tuesday it was speeding up plans for an environment-friendly fleet with the order of eight carbon-neutral container vessels, a pioneering project in the highly-polluting industry.

Online accommodation platform Airbnb offered on Tuesday to house 20,000 Afghan refugees for free around the world, as people flee Kabul following the Taliban takeover.

European equities mostly sagged Tuesday after this week's recovery-driven global rally, but Frankfurt was boosted by news of a modest upgrade to German economic growth.

Germany's GDP recovered more in the second quarter than first estimated, according to data released Tuesday, but global supply chain issues continue to weigh on the outlook for Europe's largest economy.

Representative of Fuel Distributors Fadi Abu Shakra confirmed in a TV interview Tuesday that "there will be a follow-up to the security meeting, that was held at the Grand Serail, to control the market,” and that “decisions will be taken later.”

Abu Shakra said that “several ships are unloading,” and called on citizens “to be patient,” because “it will take more than one day” to fulfil the market needs.

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Tuesday chaired a Grand Serail meeting dedicated to studying the mechanism of distributing fuel in the crisis-hit country.

Lebanon's government agreed Monday to pay tens of thousands of poor families cash assistance in U.S. dollars from a World Bank loan as the country's economic crisis deepens.

The decision comes as Lebanon is expected to end subsidies for fuel by the end of next month, a move that is expected to lead to sharp increases in prices of almost all products.