By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets moved cautiously
higher on Wednesday as investors waited for a policy decision from
the U.S. Federal Reserve and minutes from the Bank of England's
June meeting.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.2% to 346.94, setting it on
track for an almost one-week closing high.
Helping lift the index, shares of Hennes & Mauritz AB
(HNNMY) advanced 0.7% after the Swedish fashion retailer reported a
25% rise in second-quarter profit and said it plans to add up to 10
new online markets.
Voestalpine AG gained 1.6% after Citigroup lifted the steel
maker to buy from neutral. The analysts said the company's
long-term re-rating story "remains under-appreciated by the
market."
More broadly, investors waited for the U.S. Fed to conclude its
two-day meeting in Washington. The central bank is widely expected
to slash another $10 billion from its quantitative-easing program,
bringing the monthly amount of asset purchases down to $35 billion.
If the Fed sticks at that pace, its easing could end in October
with a final cut of $15 billion, analysts at HSBC have noted. Read:
What brokerages are saying about the FOMC meeting on Wednesday
Market observers will also be scrutinizing updated economic
projections from the Federal Open Market Committee and the "dots"
that reflect the individual members' view on the rate path. Read:
Markets to Fed: Give us the 'dot plot' and go home
U.S. stock futures were mixed ahead of the meeting.
Among European benchmarks, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index gained 0.3%
to 6,786.44 ahead of the minutes from BOE's monetary-policy
decision earlier in June, when the central bank kept rates and QE
unchanged. Expectations are mixed ahead of the release, with some
economists forecasting that one or two members of the Monetary
Policy Committee voted in favor of tightening policy.
BOE Governor Mark Carney said last week that interest rates
could rise sooner than markets currently expect, triggering new
forecasts from some analysts.
Germany's DAX 30 index climbed 0.1% to 9,926.27, while France's
CAC 40 index was slightly higher at 4,537.47.
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