Global stocks pushed higher on Wednesday as investors saw a higher chance of another US interest rate cut next month.Crude prices steadied after falling sharply Tuesday on speculation that a Ukraine peace deal could see Russia allowed to export vastly more oil.Wall Street’s three main indices edged higher at the start of trading on Wednesday, coming off strong gains the previous day on downbeat economic data that reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again next month.Risk appetite was further boosted by a report that US President Donald Trump’s top economic aide was the frontrunner to become the Federal Reserve’s next boss. Kevin Hassett is a close ally of the president and Bloomberg reported that he was someone who would back Trump’s calls for more rate cuts.”It’s hard to ignore that the dramatic shifts in rate cut hopes have been the dominant market driver in recent weeks,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.Expectations for a December rate cut surged this week after several Fed officials said they backed a third straight reduction, citing labour market weakness despite stubborn inflation. “This saw the probability of a 25-basis point cut on 10th December rise to 85 percent, according to the CME’s FedWatch Tool, up from 30 percent this time last week,” said Trade Nation market analyst David Morrison.Data released Wednesday showed that first-time unemployment claims dipped last week in the United States to 216,000, and came in lower than expected by analysts. “Today’s data, while a headwind of sorts for rate-cut expectations, has been a tailwind for the view that the economy can avoid a recession,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.In Europe, London stocks advanced and the pound pushed higher as the centre-left Labour government delivered a tax-raising budget aimed at curbing debt and funding public services.Meanwhile, the yield on UK ten-year government bonds dipped, a reassuring sign that investors retained confidence in finance minister Rachel Reeves has control over public finances. The moves by the pound and UK government bonds suggest Reeves “has passed a major hurdle with this budget, and suggests that her measures have fiscal credence with investors for now”, said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.Paris and Frankfurt stocks also gained, supported by hopes of progress toward the end of Russia’s war in Ukraine.US envoy Steve Witkoff will visit Moscow next week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin as Washington presses on with negotiations to end the war.In Asian trading, Seoul jumped more than two percent, while Tokyo and Taipei each closed up 1.9 percent. Hong Kong rose and Shanghai dipped.The gains come after a pullback on trading floors for much of November owing to worries about lofty valuations, particularly among tech firms, with some questioning the vast sums of cash invested in the artificial intelligence sector.Shares in Novo Nordisk jumped more than four percent on news it had asked for authorisation by US regulators to sell a higher dose for its weight-loss treatment Wegovy after a study showed it to have a better outcome.- Key figures at around 1430 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 47,238.50 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 8,073.87New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 23,155.03London – FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 9,678.79 Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.6 percent at 8,073.87Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.6 percent at 23,606.13Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.9 percent at 49,559.07 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 25,928.08 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,864.18 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1561 from $1.1570 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3191 from $1.3165Dollar/yen: UP at 156.73 yen from 155.97 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 87.65 pence from 87.86 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.1 percent at $61.71 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $57.89 per barrelburs-rl/jxb