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European stocks inched higher early on Wednesday, tracking sharp gains on Wall Street ahead of a US Federal Reserve policy announcement.
At 0900 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.3 per cent at 1,321.07 points, led by miners including Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, up 0.9-1.1 per cent and climbing along with metal prices.
France’s Schneider Electric rose 3.1 per cent after reporting a 7 per cent rise in third-quarter sales and saying Western Europe showed long-awaited but fragile signs of stabilisation.
French pharma group Sanofi dropped 3.7 per cent, adding to the previous session’s slump after its board said on Wednesday it had decided to oust chief executive Chris Viehbacher.
“This creates more uncertainty just after the group published results and outlook figures which were not reassuring,’’ a Paris-based trader said.
Dutch marine services group Fugro sank 20 per cent after it warned that it will not pay a dividend over 2014 due to deteriorating markets and price pressure on oil and gas projects. The news knocked the shares of peers Saipem, CGG and Subsea, down 1.8-4.4 per cent.
Europe’s largest semiconductor company STMicroelectronics shed 7 per cent after posting higher-than-expected quarterly net profit but saying margins would be flat and revenues would decline in the final quarter due to a softening market.
Around Europe, the UK’s FTSE 100 index was up 0.7 per cent, Germany’s DAX index up 0.7 per cent, and France’s CAC 40 up 0.1 per cent.
When it concludes a two-day meeting on Wednesday, the Fed is expected to announce the end of its bond-buying stimulus while restating its willingness to wait before hiking interest rates, which should reassure markets.
“All eyes are on the Fed, which is set to announce the end of quantitative easing. Investors will certainly remain cautious ahead of the statement,’’ Barclays France fund manager Philippe Cohen said.
US stocks rose more than 1 percent on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 ending above its 50-day moving average for the first time in almost a month, helped by strong quarterly results from a number of blue-chips.
About a third of companies listed on the STOXX Europe 600 benchmark index have reported results so far in the earnings season, with 67 per cent of them meeting or beating profit forecasts, and 59 per cent meeting or beating revenue forecasts, according to Thomson Reuters Starmine data.
In absolute terms, European companies have posted a 13.6 per cent rise in quarterly earnings, and a 0.7 per cent rise in revenue.
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