By David Hodari

Global stocks mostly edged up on Tuesday as investors awaited key central bank meetings later in the week.

Interest-rate decisions and forward guidance were expected from both the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England. Market participants will be watching the banks' statements for signals on the health of global economic growth and the potential impact of political risk events such as Brexit.

The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.4% in early trading. Gains for basic resources stocks slightly outweighed a downtick in the index's banking basket, with Antofagasta shares up 2.5% after the mining company reported its earnings. French telecommunications company Iliad slid 6.4% after its own release.

The Federal Reserve's monetary policy statement, expected Wednesday, was in particular focus. Weakening data out of several major economies in recent months have prompted waves of anxiety, with investors signaling their unease at what they saw as overly aggressive Fed policy.

In response, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has sought to calm those nerves, with increasingly dovish briefings and an insistence that the central bank will rely on data to inform future decisions.

The bank is set to release an updated chart of its officials' individual projections for interest rates on Wednesday at the end of their two-day meeting. CME Group data forecast around one interest-rate increase during 2019, although those polled gave a 98.7% probability to the Fed leaving rates unchanged at its March meeting.

"There's a lot priced into the Fed remaining dovish, although perhaps there'll be a little bit of anxiety as that meeting gets closer," said Shannon Saccocia, chief investment officer at wealth management company Boston Private. "If they come out and say they expect one rate raise this year and that they remain data dependent, that would be a rangebound positive for markets."

U.S. futures put the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq-100 on course to open 0.2% higher. The S&P 500 on Monday closed at its highest level since early October.

Elsewhere in Europe, the British pound climbed 0.1% against the U.S. dollar, extending its gains so far in 2019 to 4% amid the latest twist in the Brexit saga.

The speaker of the House of Commons on Monday unexpectedly blocked Prime Minister Theresa May's government from putting her departure deal to lawmakers for a third time, buoying the likelihood of a long delay before Britain leaves the European Union.

With the EU unlikely to want the U.K. to leave without a deal, "we suspect that the pound stays supported, given that neither side wants a no-deal and we look to be on the tortuous path to a long delay," said Chris Turner, head of foreign exchange strategy at ING in a note.

Calm trading in Europe followed similar moves in Asia, where Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.2%.

Emerging-market traders were awaiting further developments in U.S.-China trade talks, with reports over the weekend suggesting that a summit between President Trump and China's President Xi proposed for March may be pushed back to June.

The WSJ Dollar Index was down 0.1%, extending its five-day losses to 0.5% partly thanks to expectations the Fed will leave rates unchanged. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasurys edged down to 2.592% from 2.605%. Yields fall as prices rise.

In commodities, Brent crude futures climbed 0.3% to $67.72 a barrel, closing at a four-month high Monday, after OPEC and its allies recommitted to production cuts until the end of June.

Other commodities also rose, with copper futures up 0.8% at $6,485 a metric ton.

Write to David Hodari at David.Hodari@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 19, 2019 05:19 ET (09:19 GMT)

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