European stock markets steady at open, before Fed

LONDON: European stock markets mainly steadied at the start of trading on Wednesday, with all eyes on the Federal Reserve's upcoming US interest rate decision and outlook.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index gained nearly 0.2 percent to 7,446.69 points compared with the close on Tuesday.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 nudged down a few points to 12,260.30  and the CAC 40 index in Paris edged up to 5,162.24 points.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave its key interest rate untouched at Wednesday's policy meeting after raising it twice this year.

Markets instead will be watching for any signals about another possible rise in the benchmark lending rate in 2017, and on when the Fed will begin winding down its multi-trillion-dollar investment holdings -- something that could have a similar effect as a rate hike.

Wall Street stocks closed higher Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq narrowly edging to fresh records following strong earnings from McDonald's and machinery giant Caterpillar.

"With optimism high that we'll see further upbeat updates later in the week from names like Boeing, Facebook and Amazon, US stock markets appear to be riding a renewed wave of exuberance, which European markets may look to try and build on after yesterday's positive session, as we head towards today's... rate decision," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.