European shares inched lower on Wednesday, as investors refrained from placing big bets ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, while also parsing through a slate of corporate updates. The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.1% at 577.43 by 0808 GMT, on track for its fourth session of declines. Major regional benchmarks also dipped, with the ones in Germany and Spain down 0.1% each. France's CAC 40 also lost 0.1% after lawmakers narrowly approved the 2026 social security budget on Tuesday, handing the government a victory but at a political and financial...
European equities edged lower on Wednesday as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision, limiting risk taking across regional markets. The STOXX 50 fell 0.3%, while the STOXX 600 was little changed, reflecting broader uncertainty as traders waited for guidance on the US interest rate outlook beyond an expected cut later in the day. Investors were also weighing a series of corporate updates. Aegon sank nearly 10% to the bottom of the STOXX 600 after unveiling plans to relocate its head office to the US and rebrand under its largest subsidiary,...
The Nikkei index opened up around 0.2% to 50,707.54, following positive sentiment on Wall Street after the Fed cut interest rates. Today's gains were led by financial and trading house stocks; Dai-ichi Life Holdings rose around 2.4%, while Sumitomo Corp. gained around 2.5%, reflecting a return to risk appetite in the Japanese stock market. On the currency side, USD/JPY weakened to 155.62 from 156.73 at the previous close, signaling a strengthening yen following the Fed's decision. Investors are now focusing on the release of domestic economic data and PM Sanae Takaichi's policy statement...