European Shares Seen Higher With Earnings And Fed Decision In Focus

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening a tad higher on Wednesday as investors brace for the Federal Reserve's rate decision and earnings from tech giants Microsoft and Meta later in the day.

The U.S. central bank is widely expected to hold rates steady, with investors looking for signals on potential rate cuts later this year.

Microsoft and Meta will publish their earnings later today, followed by Apple and Amazon on Thursday.

Coffee chair Starbucks reported higher-than-expected revenue for the third fiscal quarter after the U.S. closing bell, sending its shares up around 4 percent.

Payments network Visa slid over 2 percent in extending trading despite posting stronger-than-expected quarterly results.

The day's busy European economic calendar features GDP data from the euro zone, Germany and France; EU business & consumer surveys and France consumer spending data.

Across the Atlantic, U.S. GDP figures, ADP employment data and pending home sales numbers are awaited ahead of Thursday's PCE index report and Friday's July jobs report.

Meanwhile, U.S.-China trade talks wrapped up without major breakthroughs, with U.S. President Donald Trump expected to take a final call on maintaining a trade truce.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said that the deadline to impose major tariffs on a slew of trading partners won't be delayed any further and that a new pharmaceutical policy will be announced within the next two weeks. It is expected to be more stringent than before.

Asian markets were mixed in cautious trade ahead of the August 1 tariff deadline. Gold held steady as the dollar weakened after hitting a more than one-month high on Tuesday.

Oil held the biggest gain in six weeks, with Brent hovering around $72 a barrel after Trump reiterated he may impose additional economic penalties on Russia unless a truce is reached with Ukraine.

Overnight, U.S. stocks ended slightly lower after weak earnings from the likes of UnitedHealth, Boeing, Merck and UPS.

Economic reports painted a mixed picture, with consumer confidence rising modestly in July while job openings and hiring decreased in June.

The Dow shed half a percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gave up 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 eased 0.3 percent to snap a six-day rally.

European stocks closed higher on Tuesday as investors assessed a slew of corporate earnings and the U.S.-EU trade deal.

The pan European STOXX 600 rose 0.3 percent. The German DAX rallied 1 percent, France's CAC 40 climbed 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.6 percent.