European Shares Poised To Open On Steady Note Ahead Of Fed Decision

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open on a steady note Wednesday, as investors await the Fed's interest-rate decision, the accompanying policy statement and Fed Chief Jerome Powell's news conference for additional cues regarding the likelihood of a pivot by the U.S. central bank.

The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points, but investors are waiting for signs that the central bank is prepared to slow the pace of its rate hikes come December.

The dollar weakened broadly, and U.S. Treasury yields were largely steady, helping gold prices push higher above $1,650 per ounce.

Oil prices rose over 1 percent, after having climbed about 2 percent on Tuesday as industry data showed a surprise drop in U.S. crude stockpiles.

Asian stocks were seeing modest losses, though Chinese and Hong Kong markets extended the previous session's rally on speculation over Beijing loosening the strict zero-COVID policy due to widespread public rhetoric against the policy.

On the economic front, foreign trade, unemployment and final manufacturing Purchasing Managers' survey results from Germany are due later in the session, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.

Eurozone final PMI survey data is due. Economists expect the index to fall to 46.6 in October, in line with flash estimate, from 48.4 in September.

U.S. stocks gave up earlier gains to end lower overnight as investors pondered over mixed economic readings ahead of the Fed's interest-rate decision.

A report on job openings highlighted labor market strength and construction spending unexpectedly rebounded in September, while U.S. manufacturing neared stagnation in October, separate reports showed.

The Dow slipped 0.2 percent, the S&P 500 shed 0.4 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.9 percent.

European stocks closed higher on Tuesday as bond yields dipped ahead of the Fed and BoE rate decisions.

The pan European STOXX 600 gained 0.6 percent. The German DAX rose 0.6 percent, France's CAC 40 index surged 1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 1.3 percent.