A television station broadcasts the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold rates after a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.
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LONDON — European stocks edged lower on Wednesday as the market fallout of the Iran war remains in the spotlight ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s next policy move.
At 12:55 p.m. in London (8:55 a.m. ET), the pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.5% lower, reversing earlier gains, with most sectors and major bourses trading in negative territory.
In corporate news, shares of British firm Diploma — a distributor of technical fastenings to the aerospace, life sciences and motorsport sectors — added 17.9%. It came after the FTSE 100 constituent announced a significant upgrade to its full-year outlook. The firm said it now expects organic revenue growth of 9%, up from 6%, with analyst consensus on operating profit rising by 13%.
Shares of FTSE 250 IT firm Softcat jumped 8.1% in afternoon dealmaking after the company reported its fiscal half-year results, touting an “exceptional” performance and hiked its guidance for the full-year.
Softcat said it now expects high single-digit growth in underlying operating profit, up from a previous forecast of low single-digit growth. Underlying operating profit in the six months to Jan. 31 rose by 27.3% year-on-year, which the company attributed to “successful execution and strategic progress.”
On Wednesday morning, oil prices retreated but held above the $100 mark as rising U.S. crude inventories helped offset rising geopolitical risk premiums.
Crude oil prices
President Donald Trump this week lambasted NATO allies for refusing to assist with efforts to protect ships attempting to travel through the Strait of Hormuz, but said in a Truth Social post on Tuesday that the U.S. did not need help.
Investors are now looking ahead to the Fed’s interest rate decision expected later on Wednesday. Markets are expecting the central bank to keep interest rates unchanged in a range between 3.5% to 3.75%.
Traders will be watching for any guidance from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on whether oil prices could impact future monetary policy decisions.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ U.S. Producer Price Index, which provides a snapshot of wholesale inflation, unexpectedly jumped in February, rising 0.7% month-over-month, outweighing expectations of a 0.3% increase.
Yields on 2-year German bunds were seen rising 7 basis points to 2.452% immediately following the PPI data release.
In Europe, investors are looking ahead to EU inflation data due later in the session. It comes ahead of monetary policy decisions from the European Central Bank, Bank of England, Riksbank and Swiss National Bank on Thursday.
On Wednesday, earnings come from Tencent, Munich Re, and Eni.
— CNBC’s Pia Singh and Lee Ying Shan contributed to this market report.