European Shares Likely To See Cautious Start Before Fed Decision

(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening on a cautious note Wednesday, with the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision and the accompanying statement likely to be in the spotlight.

The Fed is widely expected to announce its first interest rate cut in over four years. Market expectations currently point to a smaller cut following better-than-expected retail sales data released overnight.

Meanwhile, the U.K. CPI report, due later in the day may significantly influence market speculation for BoE's interest rate path for the last quarter of the year.

The Bank of England makes its monetary policy announcement on Thursday, and it is likely the central bank will leave interest rates unchanged and accelerate the pace of its gilt sales.

Asian markets treaded water as investors await the Fed announcement and Chair Jerome Powell's remarks for any clues on more easing this year.

Geopolitical tensions also remained on investors' radar, with Hezbollah vowing to respond to an Israeli attack that killed multiple people and injured thousands across Lebanon.

The dollar found a footing in Asian trading and gold was marginally higher while oil resumed slide after a two-day gain.

U.S. stocks hi intraday record highs before ending narrowly mixed overnight as investors braced for the Federal Reserve's first interest-rate cut since 2020.

Data showed U.S. retail sales unexpectedly rose in August and production at factories bounced back, tempering growth concerns but theoretically weakening the case for a more aggressive cut.

The S&P 500 ended flat with a positive bias and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.2 percent while the Dow finished marginally lower.

European stocks hit a two-week high on Tuesday, with financials leading the surge.

The pan European STOXX 600 edged up 0.4 percent. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both rose by half a percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.4 percent.