Europe midday: Stocks little changed ahead of Fed
Stocks across the Continent were continuing to tread water on Wednesday afternoon as investors waited on the US central bank's policy announcement scheduled for later in the session and a raft of corporate earnings Stateside over coming days.
"Another quiet morning for data leaves investors waiting for the US session to begin, with 48 hours packed full of news to help put the market on a more directional footing," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.
"But will it be higher or lower? There is enough happening to provide fuel for a move in either direction, particularly as August nears and volumes drop. As a result many will likely step aside to let the market set the tone, with a clearer picture likely to emerge perhaps by Friday, and if not then early next week."
Against that backdrop, as of 1502 BST the benchmark Stoxx 600 was drifting lower by 0.01% to 367.66, alongside a 0.78% rise for France's Cac-40 to 12,832.31, while the FTSE Mibtel was going the other way, giving back 0.51% to 19,800.96.
The German Dax meanwhile had dipped 0.05% to 12,829.18.
Euro/dollar was up 0.33% to 1.1755 alongside while December gold futures were drifting lower by 0.16% to $1,960.80/oz..
It was light day in terms of the economic calendar.
France's national statistics office, INSEE, reported a decline in its consumer confidence index from a reading of 96.0 points for June to 94.0 in July.
Meanwhile, Spain's independent fiscal watchdog reportedly said that its economic model for Spanish GDP was pointing to an annualised 20% fall in the second quarter.