Equities were mixed Wednesday following a down day on Wall Street, where worries about high valuations were compounded by mixed messaging from the Federal Reserve on its plans for interest rates.

Chinese tech firms stood out, with Alibaba rocketing after its chief executive said the e-commerce giant planned to ramp up spending on artificial intelligence.

Investors have enjoyed a months-long rally that has pushed some markets to record highs, but the run-up took a pause Tuesday amid talk that the gains may have gone too far.

All three main indexes in New York were dragged down from peaks by US tech titans, including Nvidia and Amazon, which have been at the forefront of the global surge owing to huge AI bets.

Another key driver of the gains has been expectations that the Fed will cut bo

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