Europe midday: Stocks push lower as investors await FOMC minutes

European stocks fell on Wednesday, with sentiment knocked by the latest developments in Paris, as investors looked ahead to the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s October meeting.

“Current expectations place a 66% chance on US rates being raised in December, but this may change with today's Federal Reserve minutes,” said Rebecca O’Keeffe, head of investment at Interactive Investor.

“The prospect of a rate rise is a key risk for markets, with no one quite sure just what reaction there will be when the Fed finally pushes the button, so the continued uncertainty means market sentiment remains fragile.”

Developments in France also weighed on sentiment, after authorities killed two suspects in the Parisian suburb of Saint Denis following last Friday’s terrorist attacks.

On Tuesday night, an international football match in Germany was cancelled due to a security alert, while two Paris-bound Air France flights from the US were diverted due to bomb threats.

At midday, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 0.5%, Germany’s DAX was off 0.6% and France’s CAC 40 was 0.9% weaker.

Shares in Air France-KLM fell, with peers Deutsche Lufthansa and International Consolidated Airlines Group following suit, while French hotel group Accor also slid.

Basic resources kicked off the session on the back foot as copper prices breached six-year lows. However, the sector was in the black at midday, boosted in part by research from Goldman Sachs, which upped its ratings on Kaz Minerals and Antofagasta.

In London, Hikma Pharmaceuticals rallied after saying it has overcome concerns raised by the US Food and Drug Administration over environment monitoring issues at its Portugal plant.

France’s Air Liquide moved lower after it announced it will buy US peer Airgas Inc in a $13.4bn (£8.8bn) deal.

On the macroeconomic front, data released by Eurostat showed industrial production in the Eurozone fell for the first time in three months in September.

Output declined a seasonally-adjusted 0.4% month-on-month compared with an upwardly revised 0.5% gain in August.

On a year-on-year basis, construction output climbed 1.8% year in September compared with a downwardly revised 1.4% drop in the previous month.

Still to come, US housing starts are at 1330 GMT.