European Shares Mostly Higher Ahead Of Fed, BoE Rate Decisions

(RTTNews) - European stocks were flat to slightly higher on Wednesday as investors awaited the outcome of key meetings at the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.

Eurozone bond yields struggled for direction and the dollar dipped as investors awaited the U.S. Fed's monetary policy announcement later in the day.

The U.S. central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points, but investors are pinning hopes that the Fed will signal plans to slow the pace of rate hikes at upcoming meetings.

Thursday's Bank of England meeting has become a close call between 50 bps and 75 bps. The pan European STOXX 600 rose 0.3 percent to 416.03 after gaining 0.6 percent on Tuesday.

The German DAX edged up 0.1 percent and France's CAC 40 index added half a percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was little changed.

Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk surged 5 percent after raising its full-year earnings outlook.

Maersk, the world's largest container shipping firm, plunged 5.6 percent after it warned of a slowdown in container demand.

Swiss dental equipment firm Straumann gained 1 percent after raising its 2022 sales outlook.

Sodexo shares fell about 2 percent as the French food services and facilities management company announced its strategic plans to accelerate future revenue growth.

British paper packaging giant Smurfit Kappa tumbled 3.2 percent despite delivering strong performance for the first nine months of 2022.

Next, the clothing and homeware chain, jumped 2.4 percent after maintaining its profit guidance for the year.

Luxury car maker Aston Martin Lagonda slumped 12 percent after its loss for the third quarter more than doubled.

Pharmaceutical and biotechnology firm GSK rose 1.2 percent after lifting its 2022 sales growth outlook.

In economic releases, German exports dropped 0.5 percent month-on-month in September after rising 2.9 percent in August, Destatis reported.

Another report revealed that Germany's jobless rate held steady at seasonally adjusted 3.0 percent in September.

Eurozone manufacturing PMI was finalized at 46.4 in October, down from September's 48.4.