Europe close: Stocks slip ahead of Fed, LVMH drop hits Cac-40

European shares ended on a mixed note on Wednesday as investor focus turned to the start of the US Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting for any clues on the future path of interest rates and also digested another deluge of earnings.

"Investors have taken some risk off the table this afternoon, and indices are trading lower across the board save for a tiny gain for the Russell 2000," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

"Losses have been much sharper in Europe, where poor figures from LVMH have put the CAC40 on the back foot once again, dragging other indices with it."

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.55% at 465.46 with the remaining regional bourses mixed alongside.

France's Cac-40 underperformed by a wide margin, retreating 1.35% to 7,315.07, while the German Dax declined by 0.49% to 16,31.46.

Fed policymakers were widely expected to resume lifting rates, with a 25 basis point increase tipped as the central bank tries to quell inflation.

In equity news, the UK banking world was rocked when NatWest chief Alison Rose quit with immediate effect after admitting she leaked details of hard-right former politician Nigel Farage’s relationship with the institution to a journalist. Shares in the bank fell on the news.

Meanwhile Lloyds Bank stock was also lower despite posting massive interim profits and raised its net interest margin guidance while hard-pressed savers were still looking for a decent return on their deposits.

“Despite this more positive outlook the shares have slipped back after profits fell short of expectations. This miss on profits appears to be down to an increase in provisions for non-performing loans, which came in at £419m, and a fall in Q2 NIM to 3.14% down from 3.22% in Q1,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

Meal delivery company Just Eat Takeaway.com gained as it swung to a profit at the half-year and said chief financial officer Brent Wissink would step down next May "to pursue other opportunities".

Shares in LVMH fell after the luxury goods giant's second-quarter numbers disappointed.

The owner of numerous high-profile brands, including Tiffany & Co, Tag Heuer, Louis Vuitton and Moet Hennessey, reported first-half revenues of €42.2bn, a 15% increase year-on-year.