A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on October 29, 2025, in New York City, USA, as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference after announcing the Fed’s interest rate cut is shown on a screen.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
LONDON – European stock markets were mixed on Wednesday as global investors braced for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.
pan-european Stocks 600 Immediately after the opening bell it was flat, with most major indexes showing little sign of movement, while regional sectors traded mixed.
delivery hero Shares rose 6% after the company said it was evaluating strategic options and focused on delivering “financial improvement.” In a letter to shareholders issued after European markets closed on Tuesday, the German food delivery giant said it was considering a range of strategic changes, including expanding its operations in some countries and partnering on capital allocation plans.
Global markets are awaiting the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting of the year on Wednesday.
The central bank is widely expected to cut rates by a quarter of a percentage point for the third time, with federal funds futures showing an 87.6% probability of a rate cut, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
But members of the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets interest rates, remain divided, with some supporting lower rates to prevent a further downturn in the labor market and others believing further rate cuts could worsen inflation.
Investors are trying to gauge member sentiment from post-meeting statements and Chairman Jerome Powell’s much-anticipated news conference Wednesday afternoon.
“Aside from the immediate policy decisions, U.S. economists expect to see dissent on both the hawk and dov sides,” Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid said in a note Wednesday morning. “Therefore, in order to build a consensus in favor of a rate cut today, they expect the statement and press conference to indicate that the bar for further rate cuts in early 2026 is relatively high.”
According to CME’s FedWatch, money markets are pricing in a 69.3% chance that the key interest rate will be in the range of 3.5% to 3.75% after the central bank’s January meeting, suggesting that if the Fed cuts rates today, rates would be at that level and expected to remain unchanged at the first meeting in 2026.
In early trading on Wednesday, the STOXX European Banks Index rose 0.2%.
Sentiment in European markets likely took a hit this week after US President Donald Trump called the continent’s leaders “weak” in an interview with Politico published on Tuesday.
Trump’s relationship with European leaders has been fraught, with some, including Britain’s Keir Starmer and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, on good terms, but not others. In the interview, the president criticized a “declining” Europe for failing to curb immigration and respond to the war in Ukraine.
“I don’t think they know what to do,” he said in an interview, adding: “Europe doesn’t know what to do.”
The comments will be a major blow at a time when European allies are trying to ensure the continent’s voice is heard in negotiations over Ukraine’s peace plan. The comments come after President Trump’s new national security strategy last week called into question whether European countries can “remain reliable allies.”
In corporate news, anglo american and tech resources He approved the merger of the two companies, paving the way for the creation of a copper giant. Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad said in a statement on Tuesday that the merger, which still requires regulatory approval, would create “the world’s top five copper producers”.
“The proposed merger is expected to create one of the world’s leading copper companies and present an attractive multi-year growth story through synergies and low capital expenditure growth,” Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note on Tuesday, just before the results of the shareholder vote were announced.
Anglo American’s London-listed shares recently rose about 1%.
In France, luxury goods giant CGT union LVMH”‘s champagne division has called on workers to go on strike this Thursday to secure year-end bonuses. Paris-listed shares of LVMH, the maker of Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot champagne, fell 0.3% in early trading.
— CNBC’s Pia Singh contributed to this market report.
