off-the-wire

European stocks rally pauses ahead of Fed outcome

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window) March 22 (Reuters) - A two-day bounce in European stocks petered out on Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's policy outcome after signs of troubles in the banking sector raised hopes of a tempered approach to further U.S. interest rate hikes. By 0811 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index posted marginal gains after a two-day bounce, fuelled by a rally in battered banking stocks following a series of support measures to stabilise the sector.


European banks index inched up 0.2% after a 5% jump in the past two sessions when UBS's state-backed takeover of the 167-year-old Credit Suisse and coordinated actions by central banks to boost liquidity lifted sentiment. The Fed is expected to raise interest rates by a quarter-of-a-percentage point later in the day, a decision that will land amid a brewing political storm over the U.S. central bank's oversight of collapsed Silicon Valley Bank. Ubisoft jumped 4.7% after HSBC upgraded the French video game producer's stock to "buy" from "hold".



(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

8780; outside U.S. +91 80 6182 2787;))
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.