By Johann Cherian,Tristan Veyet
Copyright reuters
SummaryCompaniesSTOXX 600 edge higher led by tech stocksInvestors await Fed’s interest rate decision and Powell’s commentsPostNL rises after unveiling new strategyInvestors weigh management shuffle at Nestle, Ben & Jerry’s
Sept 17 (Reuters) – European shares inched up on Wednesday, as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision and its Chair Jerome Powell’s speech later in the day for clues on the pace of potential future easing.
The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX), opens new tab was 0.1% higher at 551.58 points, as of 0824 GMT, after hitting a one-week low in the previous session as rate-sensitive financial stocks took a hit.
The session’s gains were underpinned by technology stocks (.SX8P), opens new tab, with SAP (SAPG.DE), opens new tab recovering 4.1% after Jefferies analysts saw scope for shares to regain lost ground on resilient cloud intake and free cash flow outlook.
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Shares of the company had been falling recently on concerns over slowing cloud growth. It hit an 11-month low on Tuesday.
European stocks have been trading in a tight range so far this month clouded by political turmoil in France and uncertainty regarding the impact of U.S. tariffs on earnings.
The Fed is expected to deliver a 25-basis-point rate cut after its two-day policy meeting concludes on Wednesday, a move largely priced in by markets on signs of a weakening labour market. Investors will also focus on Powell’s comments for clues on the bank’s rate trajectory.
“It’s going to be between two and three (rate cuts) this year,” said Roland Kaloyan, head of European equity strategy, Societe Generale.
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“The idea is not to say that the Fed will move from tightening conditions to super easing. I would say when you compare to inflation, it’s more a kind of normalization.”
Expectations of lower U.S. rates have weighed on the dollar, while on the other hand the Euro has rallied more than 10%, a move Kaloyan said could trim export-focused companies’ earnings by around 4%.
Meanwhile, management changes in major European companies were also in the spotlight.
Nestle (NESN.S), opens new tab slipped 0.4% after the Swiss consumer goods giant said that Chairman Paul Bulcke will step down, just weeks following its CEO’s ouster.
In the UK, ice cream unit Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield quit the company after a rift with parent Unilever . Shares of the company struggled for direction.
Among others, PostNL (PTNL.AS), opens new tab rose 5% after the Dutch postal operator unveiled its new strategy as part of its Capital Markets Day.
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Drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO), opens new tab rose 2% after Berenberg raised its rating to “buy” from “hold”. UK’s Centrica gained 3.3% after Morgan Stanley called the energy firm a top pick.
ProSiebenSat.1 (PSMGn.DE), opens new tab slid 6.2% after the German broadcaster cut its 2025 forecasts, opens new tab.
Reporting by Tristan Veyet in Gdansk and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru, editing by Rashmi Aich and Harikrishnan Nair
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