European Shares To Open On Mixed Note As Investors Await Fed Commentary

(RTTNews) - European stocks are poised to open on a mixed note Wednesday as markets brace for the Fed's interest-rate decision later in the day.

While a 25-bps rate hike is fully priced in, comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on inflation and the future trajectory of interest rates will be crucial to watch for.

Analysts remain divided over whether the U.S. central bank will signal a pause for September.

The Fed policy decision will be followed by the ECB on Thursday and BOJ on Friday.

The European Central Bank is also expected to lift rates by 25 basis points, but the odds for September continue to diminish due to concerns over slowing growth.

The Bank of Japan is likely to maintain its ultra-dovish stance.

Tech stocks could be in focus today after both Microsoft and Alphabet reported greater resilience than expected in their core businesses in the second quarter.

AT&T, Boeing and Cola-Cola are among the prominent companies due to report their quarterly results before the U.S. opening bell later today.

The dollar hovered close to a two-week high versus the euro while oil and gold prices were seeing modest losses.

The day's European economic calendar remains light, with euro area monetary aggregates for June and consumer sentiment survey results from France awaited later in the session.

U.S. stocks advanced overnight following upbeat earnings from the likes of General Electric and 3M, and data showing that consumer confidence increased to a two-year high in July as inflationary pressures eased.

The Dow inched up marginally to close higher for the twelfth straight session and the S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent to reach its best closing level in over a year while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.6 percent.

European markets closed broadly higher on Tuesday as investors reacted to gloomy business confidence data from Germany and China's pledge to step up support for its sputtering economy.

The pan European STOXX 600 rose half a percent. The German DAX inched up 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.2 percent while France's CAC 40 slipped 0.2 percent.