World stocks drift as investors await Fed meeting

HONG KONG (AP) — Global financial markets struggled for direction today as investors await next week's policy meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Solid retail sales data may reinforce expectations that the Fed may start raising interest rates sooner than had been expecting.

France's CAC 40 slipped 0.2 percent to 4,434 and Germany's DAX lost 0.3 percent to 9,663. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.2 percent to 6,814. U.S. stocks were set to open slightly lower, with Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures both 0.1 percent lower.