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By Isla Binnie
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Global equity indexes mostly fell on Wednesday as possible U.S. trade curbs on chip equipment pulled tech stocks lower, while Treasury yields and the dollar both hit four-month lows as Federal Reserve officials indicated the central bank was getting closer to cutting interest rates.
The Japanese yen rose sharply, in a move suspected to be the result of the latest in a series of interventions from Tokyo to boost the long-depressed currency.
A U.S. interest rate reduction by September is seen as having a 98% probability, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. Lowering rates is generally seen as a way to stoke economic growth.
"We are hearing a choral change in Fed speakers preparing the markets for a rate cut beginning in the later part of Q3," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
Among the comments, Fed Governor Christopher Waller and New York Fed President John Williams both noted the shortening horizon toward looser monetary policy.
The benchmark S&P 500 equity index lost 78.93 points, or 1.39%, to 5,588.27 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 512.41 points, or 2.77%, to 17,996.93.
The Dow, which has underperformed the other two major U.S. stock indexes this year, ended higher on Wednesday and notched its third straight record closing high.
Chipmaker stocks slumped on a report that the United States is mulling restricting imports of technology to China, coupled with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump saying key production hub Taiwan should pay the U.S. for its defense.
MSCI's gauge of global stocks fell 7.47 points, or 0.90%, to 823.78.
Shares of artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia, fell more than 6% after a rocky Asian session for Taiwan's TSMC, which closed 2.4% lower.
Investors earlier this week had formed a cautiously optimistic view of a second U.S. presidency for Trump, who is running against incumbent Democrat Joe Biden.
"Many strategists have suggested (Trump) is bullish for equities, and I'm just not sure about that," said Benjamin Melman, global chief investment officer at Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management.
YEN JUMPS
The yen has posted several outsized moves in recent days, appreciating sharply on Thursday and Friday from 38-year lows of 161.96 per dollar, sudden rallies that market participants said had the signs of Japanese government intervention.
Bank of Japan data released on Tuesday suggested Tokyo may have spent 2.14 trillion yen ($13.5 billion) intervening on Friday. Combined with the estimated amount spent on Thursday, Japan is suspected to have bought nearly 6 trillion yen via intervention last week.