Global stocks mostly rose Wednesday, with Wall Street equities gaining on hopes of lower interest rates, while the British pound advanced on the government's unveiling of a new budget.

US equities rose for a third straight day as momentum builds following comments in recent days from Federal Reserve officials signaling another potential interest rate cut next month.

"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.

All three major US indices climbed again, led by the tech-rich Nasdaq, which rose 0.8 percent.

Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital Management said the market could drift higher still if rate-cut expectations firm further.

Gains by small capitaliza

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