GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks near flat a day ahead of Fed announcement; yields, dollar up slightly

(Updates to late afternoon in US)

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Investors consider Nvidia (NVDA) decision

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Investors cautious ahead of central bank meetings

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Fed rate cut all but certain, focus moves to outlook

By Caroline Valetkevitch and Alun John

NEW YORK/LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Major stock indexes were little changed and the dollar edged higher on Tuesday as investors turned their attention to the Federal Reserve meeting and as investors digested news that Washington is allowing Nvidia's (NVDA) second-best chips to be exported to China.

Treasury yields were slightly higher after U.S. labor market data. The greenback extended gains after the data, which showed U.S. job openings increased modestly in October, while hiring remained subdued. U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington will allow Nvidia's (NVDA) H200 processors, its second-best artificial intelligence chips, to be exported to China, collecting a 25% fee on such sales. Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) were down 0.7%.

The Fed is widely expected to announce on Wednesday a cut in interest rates, but investors expect policymakers to remain divided.

"It's the quiet before the storm. We have a big Fed meeting tomorrow - a big catalyst," and so it is normal to have mild market moves right now, said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments in New York.

Traders now see an 89.6% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut this week, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. Earlier, the Reserve Bank of Australia held rates steady as expected on Tuesday. More notably, however, it ruled out further policy easing and warned that rates could move higher if inflation pressures prove stubborn. The Australian dollar advanced 0.26% versus the greenback to $0.6639.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.15% to 99.22.

The Bank of Canada and Swiss National Bank are both expected to hold rates steady when they meet on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 138.43 points, or 0.29%, to 47,601.06, the S&P 500 fell 1.35 points, or 0.02%, to 6,845.16 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 31.37 points, or 0.13%, to 23,576.17.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell 1.04 points, or 0.10%, to 1,007.00. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.1%. Also, European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel said on Monday that the next move in euro interest rates is more likely to be up - even if it is not on the immediate horizon - and warned that leaving rates unchanged for too long could bring a passive easing of monetary policy.

In the Treasury market, the yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 1 basis point to 4.182%, from 4.172% late on Monday. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, who is top contender as next chair of the Fed, said on Monday that the central bank should continue to lower interest rates. That will raise questions about how the Fed will operate in the medium term.

Oil prices were lower as investors focused on Russia and Ukraine peace talks. Brent crude futures fell 55 cents, or 0.88%, to settle at $61.94 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 63 cents, or 1.07%, to $58.25.

Also in the foreign exchange market, the yen was softer. It weakened immediately in the wake of a powerful earthquake that rocked Japan on Monday.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York and Alun John in London, with additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Matthew Lewis)