European markets flat ahead of key Fed decision; Vestas down 16%; TeamViewer up 10%
LONDON — European stocks were muted Wednesday as investors prepared for the latest comment and monetary policy decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
| TICKER | COMPANY | NAME | PRICE | CHANGE | %CHANGE | VOLUME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .FTSE | FTSE 100 | *FTSE | 7239.76 | -35.05 | -0.48 | 424349459 |
| .GDAXI | DAX | *DAX | 15928.84 | -25.61 | -0.16 | 44297977 |
| .FCHI | CAC 40 Index | CAC | 6940.52 | 13.49 | 0.2 | 34304105 |
The pan-European Stoxx 600 hovered fractionally above the flatline by mid-afternoon, with oil and gas stocks dropping 2.8% while miners gained 1.1%
Investors around the world will be closely following the latest decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday
Following the Federal Open Market Committee’s two-day meeting, the central bank is widely expected to announce it will begin to wind down its $120 billion in monthly bond purchases and end the program entirely by the middle of 2022
Read more: The Fed is about to set its post-crisis policy course — with a high level of uncertainty ahead
The Fed’s comments on rising prices will also be in focus, as inflation has been running at a 30-year high
U.S. stock futures pulled back ahead of the Fed’s decision while in Asia-Pacific overnight, markets were mixed
Back in Europe, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde told an event in Lisbon on Wednesday that the ECB is very unlikely to hike interest rates in 2022 as inflation remains too low, pushing back market expectations.
Elsewhere, the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow continued on Wednesday. U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday that one of the most important things the world can do is reduce methane emissions as quickly as possible
“It’s one of the most potent greenhouse gases there is,” he told COP26 attendees at the launch of the Global Methane Pledge, a pact to cut methane emissions by 30% by the end of the decade. “It amounts to about half the warming we’re experiencing today.
