By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- After the strongest rally in two months,
European stock markets showed broad-based losses on Tuesday, as
investors stayed cautious ahead of the outcome of the U.S. Federal
Reserve meeting on Wednesday.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index dropped 0.4% to 312.34 after rising
1.3% on Monday.
Shares of CGG tanked 14% after the oil-services firm said it is
"operating in difficult market conditions" and fourth-quarter
earnings will be impacted by project delays.
Mining firms were also lower, tracking losses for most metals
prices. Shares of BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) dropped 1.1%, Anglo
American PLC fell 1.7%, and Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLCNF) slipped
0.3%.
Shares of Zurich Insurance Group AG gained 1.6% after the Swiss
firm appointed the chief financial officer from fellow insurer
Swiss Re AG , George Quinn, as its new financial boss. Swiss Re
shares fell 0.5%.
More broadly, investors were still waiting for the all-important
two-day Federal Reserve meeting kicking off later Tuesday. The main
question remains whether the central bank will start cutting its
asset purchases at this point or leave the tapering until next
year.
After a recent string of solid data and a budget deal in
Washington, analysts say the possibility of tapering at the
December meeting has gone up, although they are still divided as to
whether the stronger economic outlook will be enough for the Fed to
reduce its bond buying. The decision is out Wednesday, after the
European markets close.
Another central bank, Sweden's Riksbank, was in the spotlight
after it cut its main interest rate by 25 basis points to 0.75%, in
an effort to stave off lower inflation.
Elsewhere in Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index dropped 0.5% to
6,490.08, while France's CAC 40 index slid 1% to 4,078.08.
Germany's DAX 30 index lost 0.4% to 9,127.87.
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