European markets opened lower Tuesday as global investors look ahead to the start of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.1% in early deals, with sectors in mixed territory. Financial services stocks were down 0.7%, while oil and gas stocks rose 0.4%.
Recent inflation reports could prompt the central bank to signal that interest rates will remain higher for longer than expected. Fed funds futures currently forecast a 99% likelihood that the Fed will leave benchmark interest rates unchanged this week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Meanwhile, it’s been a dramatic night for Asia-Pacific markets after investors assessed the latest central bank monetary policy decisions from the Bank of Japan and the Reserve Bank of Australia.
The BOJ officially ended its negative interest rate policy at its March meeting, hiking interest rates for the first time in 17 years and raising its benchmark interest rate from -0.1% to a range of 0% to 0.1%. The bank also abolished its yield curve control policy, marking a historic shift in policy. Asia-Pacific markets largely fell Tuesday following the move.
