Investors gear up for key Fed meeting

LONDON — European stocks are expected to open lower on Tuesday after a strong start to trading in November.

The U.K.’s FTSE index is seen opening 8 points lower at 7,289, Germany’s DAX lower by 36 points at 15,784, France’s CAC 40 down 12 points at 6,888 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 14 points lower at 27,030, according to IG data.

Investors around the world are gearing up for a busy week of corporate earnings, a key U.S. Federal Reserve meeting and October’s U.S. jobs report (out on Friday) which will give the latest indication of the state of health of the world’s biggest economy.

The Federal Reserve’s highly-anticipated Federal Open Market Committee meeting kicks off on Tuesday. It is widely expected to lead to the central bank announcing it will begin to wind down its $120 billion in monthly bond purchases and end the program entirely by the middle of 2022.

Investors will also be looking for the Fed’s comments on rising prices as inflation has been running at a 30-year high. The meeting concludes on Wednesday.

In other news, global investors are continuing to follow developments at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. The UN summit is widely seen as a make-or-break moment for global leaders to take decisive action to limit carbon emissions but hopes are not high for ambitious targets.

Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Tuesday trade, with South Korea leading gains in the region. Australia’s central bank announced its decision to keep its cash rate target unchanged. U.S. stock futures were slightly lower in overnight trading.

European earnings are also in focus on Tuesday with the latest figures coming from Fresenius, HelloFresh, DSM, Adecco Group, Standard Chartered, BP and Ferrari on Tuesday.

Data releases include Portuguese unemployment data for September and Spanish car registrations for October.