The European indices weren’t in a playful mood on Wednesday, tentatively edging higher as investors fret about the evening’s Fed meeting.
The FTSE – which ended Tuesday like a pre-transformation Scrooge, miserably lurking at a 2 year nadir – could only add 15 or so points after the bell. It was aided somewhat by Brent Crude lifting off its 15 month lows; the black stuff heaved its way back to $56.70 per barrel as it rebounded by 1.1%, though that only resulted in mild gains for BP (LON:BP) and Shell (LON:RDSa).
The FTSE also benefited from GlaxoSmithKline's (LON:GSK) 7.5% surge, the pharma-giant pleasing – and surprising – investors with news that it was spinning off its consumer healthcare business in a joint venture with Pfizer (NYSE:PFE).
The Eurozone was just as unenthused. The DAX was reticent to do anything, opening flat just above 10750, while the CAC was effectively unchanged at 4780.
Though much of the day is going to be spent in anticipation of the Fed’s final get-together of 2018, the pound has its own (briefly non-Brexit) issues to focus on. The latest inflation reading is set to show a further slide, from 2.4% to 2.3% month-on-month, something that might not help it out too much. Currently sterling is up 0.2% against the dollar – which is also down against the euro and the yen – but down the same amount against its single currency rival.
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