European Shares Struggle For Direction Ahead Of Fed Decision

(RTTNews) - European stocks struggled for direction on Tuesday as caution prevailed ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision, due on Wednesday.

The U.S. central bank is widely expected to deliver a 25-basis-point rate cut but prospects for 2026 look uncertain.

In economic releases, Germany's foreign trade surplus increased in October as exports rose amid a fall in imports, official data showed.

Exports posted a monthly increase of 0.1 percent in October, though slower than the 1.5 percent recovery in September. Meanwhile, imports declined 1.2 percent after rising 5.1 percent a month ago.

As a result, the trade surplus climbed to EUR 16.9 billion from EUR 15.3 billion in September.

A report on U.S. job openings for October, due later in the day may provide important clues on the health of the U.S. labor market.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up by 0.1 percent to 579.03 after ending flat with a negative bias on Monday.

The German DAX rose 0.4 percent and France's CAC 40 was marginally higher while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.1 percent.

Defense contractor Chemring Group fell over 1 percent in London after reporting higher-than-expected costs for its Norwegian expansion project.

British American Tobacco slumped 4 percent. The cigarette maker said it expects 2026 trading to come in at the lower end of its mid-term targets.

German wind turbine maker Nordex rallied 2.3 percent after winning new contracts in France and Belgium.

ThyssenKrupp plunged 7 percent after the industrial conglomerate warned of challenging conditions, expecting to swing to a net loss of up to 800 million euros ($931 million) in 2026.