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U.S. stocks mostly lower

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UK shares fall as govt unveils new budget

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Gold hits record high in risk-off mood

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Bitcoin nears record high

(Updates to 3 p.m. ET)

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK Oct 30 (Reuters) -

Global stock indexes edged lower on Wednesday as a

disappointing forecast from Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) weighed on

chipmakers, while gold prices rose to a record high as

uncertainty ahead of next week's U.S. presidential election

drove safe-haven demand.

British stocks hit their lowest level since

August as UK Finance Minister Rachel Reeves said she would raise

taxes by 40 billion pounds a year ($52 billion) in her first

budget.

Shares of Alphabet rose more than 3% after the

company late Tuesday reported quarterly revenue that beat

estimates.

On the flip side, shares of semiconductor company

Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) dropped 9.9% after its revenue

forecasts and artificial intelligence chip sales disappointed

investors. Other chipmakers also slipped, with Nvidia ( NVDA )

down 1.3%.

Facebook owner Meta Platforms ( META ) and Microsoft ( MSFT )

report earnings later in the day, followed by Apple ( AAPL )

and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) on Thursday.

"The market is heavily focused on what these companies

are going to deliver, their guidance and any signal that perhaps

their purchases of AI-related infrastructure could change," said

Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial in

Charlotte, North Carolina.

Stocks are up sharply for the year so far, and Krosby said

upbeat results from the megacap names will help to support the

overall market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.20 points

to 42,233.25, the S&P 500 fell 7.55 points, or 0.13%, to

5,825.37 and the Nasdaq Composite slid 44.27 points, or

0.24%, to 18,668.48.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe

fell 2.20 points, or 0.26%, to 845.88. The STOXX 600

index fell 1.25%, while the FTSE 100 dropped 0.7%. Shares of

Italian spirit maker Campari slumped after missing

forecasts.

Gold rose to an all-time high as uncertainty over the

Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election boosted safe-haven demand.

A recent

Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Vice President Kamala Harris, a

Democrat, leading Republican Donald Trump 44% to 43% among

registered voters nationally, within the margin of error. Other

opinion polls show tight margins in the seven election

battleground states.

Among riskier assets, bitcoin was down slightly

after surging to near its all-time high from March as investors

weighed the prospect of a victory by Trump, widely seen as

favorable towards crypto.

"Bitcoin has been considered an important barometer for

liquidity in the market," Krosby said, adding that its recent

gains have been "associated with a Trump victory."

Bitcoin was last down 0.71% at $71,799.00.

The

dollar edged down

against other major currencies as stronger-than-expected

U.S. private payrolls data and the UK budget release set off

choppy trading as investors awaited clues about the future

policy paths of their respective central banks.

Data showed U.S. private payrolls growth surged in October.

The key U.S. jobs report for October is due on Friday.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the currency

against six major rivals, rose to 104.43 earlier in the session

but was last down 0.16% at 104.07.

Sterling weakened 0.33% to $1.2972.

Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields were

little changed.

Investors were also digesting data showing the euro zone

grew faster than expected last quarter. A separate report showed

the U.S. economy had maintained steady third-quarter growth.

In the energy market, oil prices rebounded from declines

earlier in the week. Data on Wednesday showed U.S. crude and

gasoline inventories fell unexpectedly last week.

Brent crude futures settled up $1.43, or 2.01%,

at $72.55 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude

rose $1.4, or 2.08%, to $68.61.

(Additional reporting by Tom Wilson in London and Rae Wee in

Singapore; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Christina Fincher, David

Evans and Richard Chang)