European
stock indexes were mixed in early trading on Wednesday, ahead of the
announcement of the US monetary policy decision and as companies continue to
announce their earnings.
As
of 08:27 GMT, the Euro Stoxx 50 index dipped 0.22 percent to trade near
2,925.26 points.
Britain’s
FTSE 100 Index ascended to 5,994.20 points, bringing its rise today to
about 0.60 percent.
German
DAX 30 index rose nearly 0.13 percent and now settles near 10,811.15 points,
while French CAC 40 reached 4,566.51 points, down 0.08 percent.
Global
markets are waiting for the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy
meeting later in the day, with expectations that there will be no change in interest
rates, which currently stands at 0.25 percent.
But
investors are looking ahead to the US central bank's view of the current
economic situation and the outlook for monetary policy.
Investors
are also closely watching the earnings results of Airbus, Deutsche Bank,
Barclays, GSK, Standard Chartered and Volkswagen later in the day.
The
final eurozone consumer confidence data for April is due in the coming hours of
the day.
In
Asia, stocks indices ended trading on Wednesday on a mass rally supported by
news from the trend of governments to ease closures in a number of countries,
along with positive economic data issued in Australia and New Zealand.
In
Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index increased by 0.28 percent to 24,643.59, while
the Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.44 percent down at 2,822.44.
Australia’s
S&P/ASX 200 finished 1.51 percent up at 5,393.40, and South Korea’s Kospi
index ascended 0.70 percent to 1,947.56.
Meanwhile, the dollar
index, which measures the performance of six major currencies against the US
dollar, dropped 0.26 percent at 99.67.
