European shares flat as investors await outcome of crucial Federal Reserve meeting

People walking by the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow was up slightly in late morning trading as traders waited for the Federal Reserve's latest decision on interest rates. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

European shares were flat on Wednesday, pressured by a sell-off in luxury stocks. There was an absence of big bets by investors ahead of a crucial Federal Reserve meeting later in the day, in which the US central bank was expected to keep interest rates unchanged and provide cues on its monetary policy trajectory.

Meanwhile, some top European Central Bank officials, including president Christine Lagarde, tried to dampen speculation about a streak of interest rate cuts.The Iseq edged 0.4 per cent lower, echoing the muted mood of investors across European stock markets, rather than reacting to local political news which saw Leo Varadkar signal his intention to step down as Taoiseach.was among the climbers, advancing 0.6 per cent to €21.

Combined with a profit warning from Burberry in January, the high-end sector is grappling with a worsening slowdown in demand for luxury goods. In a sector-wide reaction other luxury stocks such asrose 5.7 per cent after the Swiss contract drug manufacturer agreed to buy Roche’s Genentech manufacturing facility in California for $1.2 billion in cash.Wall Street’s main stock indexes were little changed in early trading as investors awaited the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s meeting.

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