Pound Higher As European Shares Advance

(RTTNews) - The pound strengthened against its major counterparts in the European session on Wednesday, amid risk appetite as reassuring earnings reports from Alphabet, Microsoft and Texas Instruments helped ease concerns about the tepid economic outlook.

Credit Suisse Group AG posted its third straight quarterly loss, whereas Deutsche Bank posted a better-than-expected 51 percent rise in second-quarter profit and BASF lifted its guidance for full-year revenues.

Traders awaited the Federal Reserve's policy announcement due later today, when it is expected to deliver another 75 basis point hike.

The accompanying statement is expected to shed light on the Fed's tightening path ahead amid indications of a slowdown in the economic growth.

The FTSE100 rose 0.44 percent, DAX climbed 0.08 percent and the CAC 40 was up by 0.34 percent.

The pound climbed to 1.2086 against the greenback and 1.1607 against the franc, following its prior lows of 1.2016 and 1.1571, respectively. The pound is seen finding resistance around 1.22 against the greenback and 1.20 against the franc.

The pound touched 165.29 against the yen, registering a 6-day high. If the pound rises further, 168.00 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.

The pound firmed to 0.8398 against the euro, its strongest level since May 17. The currency is likely to locate resistance around the 0.82 level.

Looking ahead, U.S. durable goods orders, advance goods trade balance, wholesale inventories and pending home sales, all for June, are due out in the New York session.

At 2:00 pm ET, the Fed announces its decision on interest rate. Economists widely expect the Fed to raise rates by 75 basis points to 2.5 percent from 1.75 percent.