European Shares Seen Opening Lower As Fed Meeting Gets Underway

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open on a sluggish note Tuesday as the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting gets underway later today.

The Fed is widely expected to raise rates by 25 bps on Wednesday but the guidance on future rate hikes and any changes to the economic projections will be key.

The European Central Bank and the Bank of England are expected to hike rates by 50 bps each later this week.

Asian markets were broadly lower, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng falling over 1 percent ahead of earnings from big-tech companies including Apple and Alphabet.

Losses elsewhere across Asia remained capped somewhat after data showed China's manufacturing and services expanded for the first time in four months in January.

The International Monetary Fund today upgraded its global growth outlook in 2023, saying China's "recent reopening has paved the way for a faster-than-expected recovery." It now expects China's economy to grow 5.2 percent in 2023, up from its October forecast of 4.4 percent.

The dollar was eyeing a fourth monthly loss and gold held steady while oil prices edged up slightly after having fallen nearly 2 percent in the previous session on demand concerns.

U.S. stocks began the new week on a downbeat note Monday as caution crept in ahead of a slew of earnings from top tech firms and the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 2 percent, while the Dow slipped 0.8 percent and the S&P 500 shed 1.3 percent.

European stocks slipped on Monday and Eurozone bond yields climbed, as hotter-than-expected inflation data from Spain brought inflation worries back into focus.

The pan-European STOXX 600 slid 0.2 percent. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 index both eased around 0.2 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.3 percent.