Investing.com - European stocks edged higher on Thursday, as investors remained focused on the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated interest rate decision due later in the day.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.21%, France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.15%, while Germany’s DAX 30 added 0.17%.
Markets were jittery amid speculation that mixed U.S. economic reports and recent volatility in global financial markets will prompt the U.S. central bank to refrain from hiking interest rates on Thursday.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said that an interest rate increase is data dependent but has also indicated that she expects to begin raising rates before the end of the year.
Financial stocks were mixed, as BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) dipped 0.01% and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) added 0.13% in France, while Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) gained 0.62% and Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) slid 0.32% in Germany.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) edged up 0.09% and 0.13% respectively, while Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) gained 0.49% and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) eased 0.04%.
Elsewhere, Dutch telecom giant Altice NV (AMS:ATCA) skyrocketed 7.98% after confirming plans to buy cable TV operator Cablevision Systems (NYSE:CVC) for $17.7 billion.
TeliaSonera AB (ST:TLSN) added to gains and surged 3.25% after the Swedish phone company said it plans to exit Asia and ex-Soviet countries.
In London, FTSE 100 dipped 0.02%, weighed by Rotork Plc, whose shares dove 14.26% after the manufacturing company forecast annual revenue below analysts’ projections and said the second half of the year will be challenging.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mixed. Shares in HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) dropped 0.78% and 0.79% respectively, while Barclays (LONDON:BARC) edged up 0.08% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) rose 0.21%.
In the mining sector, stocks were broadly higher. Glencore (LONDON:GLEN) added 0.19% and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) gained 0.80%, while rivals Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) and Anglo American (LONDON:AAL) rallied 0.85% and 1.11%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.13% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.18% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.11% slip.