European Stocks Close Higher Again As Investors Await Fed Policy

European stocks closed higher on Wednesday, extending recent gains, as investors digested the latest batch of earnings and economic reports, and awaited the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement, due later in the day.

Worries about geopolitical tensions and the outlook for the global economy amid higher borrowing costs, continued to weigh on the markets and limited their gains.

The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged. The central bank’s accompanying statement and Chairman Jerome Powell’s post meet press conference are eyed for clues on the outlook for future interest rate moves.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.67%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 ended 0.28% up, Germany’s DAX gained 0.76% and France’s CAC 40 ended up 0.68%, while Switzerland’s SMI advanced 1.08%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Turkiye closed higher.

Austria, Finland, Iceland and Sweden ended weak, while Norway closed flat.

In the UK market, Next gained more than 4.5% after raising its profit guidance for the fourth time so for this fiscal year

Melrose Industries climbed 3.7% and Centrica rallied 3.2%. CRH, Associated British Foods, 3i, Flutter Entertainment, Admiral and United Utilities advanced 2 to 2.6%. Rolls-Royce Holdings, Sainsbury, Pearson, Severn Trent and Persimmon also ended notably higher.

Standard Chartered ended down 2.7%. Antofagasta drifted down nearly 2.5%. GlaxoSmithKline, Barclays, Fresnillo, BP, BT, Croda International, Intertek Group and Natwest shed 1 to 2%.

In the German market, Hannover Rueck climbed nearly 3% and Sartorius ended 2.7% up. MTU Aero Engines, Munich RE, Qiagen, E.ON, Commerzbank, BMW, HeidelbergCement, Mercedes-Benz, Allianz, Continental and Deutsche Telekom gained 1 to 2%.

BASF ended 3% down. Siemens Energy, Daimler Truck Holding and Bayer ended lower by 1 to 1.1%.

In Paris, Teleperformance, WorldLine, Stellantis and Engie gained 2.2 to 2.9%. Safran gained nearly 2%, while Danone, Carrefour, Sanofi, Eurofins Scientific, Veolia and AXA ended higher by 1 to 1.8%.

Thales, Edenred, ArcelorMittal, Bouygues and Michelin posted moderate losses.

In the Swiss market, Barry Callebaut, the world’s biggest chocolate maker, gained nearly 5% after updating its mid-term volume target.

On the economic front, UK house prices unexpectedly climbed in October due to a shortage of properties amid the robust labor market conditions, data from the mortgage lender Nationwide Building Society revealed Wednesday.

House prices posted a monthly growth of 0.9% in October, following a 0.1% rise in September. This was the highest since August 2022, when the rate of increase was the same.

The UK manufacturing activity continued to contract in October with downturns in production and new orders curtailing job creation and economic uncertainty and the cost of living crisis pushed sentiment to a 10-month low, final survey results from S&P Global revealed.

The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply final manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI rose to 44.8.