European stocks were muted Tuesday morning as global markets prepare for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting, which begins today, and more earnings.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 hovered around the flatline in early trade, with oil and gas and travel stocks climbing 0.8% while financial services dropped 0.7%.
European markets look set to follow their global counterparts lower: Shares in Asia-Pacific were lower Tuesday morning as investors anticipated the Bank of Japan’s latest interest rate decision.
Elsewhere, U.S. stock futures held steady in overnight trading on Monday as investors braced for another batch of corporate earnings. Key companies such as Alphabet, Microsoft, Starbucks and AMD report after the bell.
Global markets will be watching the U.S. Federal Reserve this week as it kicks off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday. The central bank is not expected to take any action, but investors will pay close attention to comments from Chairman Jerome Powell, particularly regarding inflation.
Investors will be digesting the latest earnings from HSBC, Europe’s largest lender by assets, which reported first-quarter pre-tax profits that beat estimates but its revenue was down.
It was a big day for earnings in Europe with BP, UBS, ABB, Schneider Electric, Novartis and Whitbread all reporting.