Dec 9 (Reuters) – European shares were muted on Tuesday, as caution lingered ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting starting later in the day, while gains in financial and industrial stocks kept the index afloat.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.1% at 579.14 by 0810 GMT. Major regional benchmark indexes were broadly higher, with the German and the Spanish indexes up 0.3% each.
Financial services shares led gains, up 0.7%. Man Group and EQT gained 4.4% and 2.7%, respectively, after rating upgrades from J.P.Morgan.
Banks inched up 0.4%, led by a 1.6% rise in French lender BNP Paribas.
Industrial companies advanced 0.5%, with defence stocks leading the rise. The broader index tracking defence and aerospace stocks was up 1.2%.
Investors were cautious ahead of the Fed’s interest rate decision on Wednesday, where the U.S. central bank is widely expected to deliver a 25-basis-point cut.
A monthly jobs opening report is on the radar, which can provide more insight on the health of the U.S. labor market.
Among other stocks, Thyssenkrupp slumped 12.6% after the German conglomerate said it expects to swing to a net loss of up to 800 million euros ($931.04 million) in 2026.
British American Tobacco (BAT) was down 4.3% after the cigarette maker said it expects 2026 numbers to come in at the lower end of its mid-term targets.
($1 = 0.8593 euros)
(Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
