European stocks fell during Tuesday's trading session, as global markets awaited the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.3% to 575.21 points, the German DAX index fell 0.4% to 24,202.63 points, and the French CAC 40 index fell 0.19% to 8,223.32 points. The British FTSE 100 index was unchanged at 9,658.88 points.
In the corporate context, Novartis shares fell 3.3% after the Swiss pharmaceutical giant announced its third-quarter results. Sales in constant currency rose 7% year-over-year, while net income jumped 25% to $3.9 billion, missing analysts' expectations of $4.4 billion, according to LSEG data.
In the financial services sector, shares of French bank BNP Paribas fell 3% in Tuesday's trading despite reporting pre-tax profits of €4.28 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations of €3.44 billion, according to LSEG data.
The bank's revenues for the period amounted to approximately €12.6 billion, slightly lower than the €12.8 billion estimate. The third-quarter earnings report cited a specific credit profile that led to an increase in the cost of risk in the bank's global markets division.
In contrast, London-listed shares of HSBC rose 2.5% in early trading after third-quarter earnings exceeded market expectations.
US Federal Reserve meeting
The most important event for investors this week is the two-day Federal Reserve meeting, which begins Tuesday. Market expectations currently indicate a 96% chance that the US central bank will announce another 25 basis point rate cut this week, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.
Traders are also awaiting a signal from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday regarding the possibility of implementing an additional rate cut at the final meeting of the year in December, amid concerns about a slowing labor market.
The Federal Reserve is facing a dearth of economic data due to the ongoing US government shutdown, with last week's inflation report among the few recently released.
