European indices were mixed at the start of trading on Wednesday, October 28, amid anticipation of the US Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates, with expectations of a hold.
In trading, the Stoxx 600 index fell by about 0.2% to 642 points, and the British FTSE 100 also declined by 0.3% to 10,659 points.
Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 index remained stable at 7886 points, and the German DAX index also remained stable at 25598 points.
This decline reflects investors' continued reluctance to increase their exposure to stocks until the Federal Reserve makes its interest rate decision later in the global trading session, followed by the release of earnings results after the market closes from Alphabet and Microsoft.
Major European financial firms provided strong updates that helped mitigate the overall market declines.
Shares in Europe's largest lender, BNP Paribas, rose by about 1% after it reported third-quarter earnings that beat analysts' expectations, supported by strong activity in its banking divisions.
Standard Chartered’s results also exceeded analysts’ expectations, supported by strong revenues from trading activities within the global markets sector, and an acceleration in cash inflows through its wealth management business.
UBS also announced that its net profit rose by approximately 8% year-on-year to $2.69 billion.
