European Shares Poised For Cautious Start Ahead Of Fed Decision

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open flat to slightly lower on Wednesday as investors react to earnings from big tech companies and await the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy announcement.

Asian markets traded mostly lower, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng falling more than 1 percent as the International Monetary Fund warned of risks from China's deepening property sector crisis.

Oil prices slipped in Asian trade as new data showed China's manufacturing activity contracted for the fourth straight month in January.

The dollar rose while gold headed for its first monthly dip as investors tempered their bets of swift and deep rate cuts in the U.S.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged later today, but the accompanying statement along with Chair Jerome Powell's press conference might provide some important clues on the timing of future rate cuts.

Optimism about a March rate cut has faded recently, with many economists now suggesting the Fed will wait until May to begin lowering rates.

Reports on U.S. private sector employment, German inflation, labor market and retail sales may also sway sentiment as the trading day progresses.

On the earnings front, Microsoft beat market estimates for quarterly profit and revenue but reported increased costs to develop new artificial-intelligence features.

Likewise, Google parent Alphabet delivered better-than-expected fourth-quarter results but posted weaker-than-expected holiday-season advertising sales.

Big-name tech companies like Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META) are due to report quarterly results in the coming days.

U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as investors reacted to a mixed bag of earnings from United Parcel Service and General Motors as well as upbeat readings on job openings and consumer confidence.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 0.8 percent and the S&P 500 finished marginally lower, while the Dow rose 0.4 percent to a new record closing high.

European stocks rose for the fifth straight session on Tuesday as data showed the eurozone economy avoided a technical recession in the second half of 2023.

The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.2 percent. The German DAX inched up 0.2 percent, France's CAC 40 added half a percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.4 percent.