European markets set for lower open ahead of UK inflation data, U.S. Fed rate decision

LONDON — European markets were headed for a lower open on Wednesday as investors awaited key data from the region and looked to the U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decision.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was last set to open down around 21 points 8,298 points, Germany’s DAX was on track to fall by around 30 points to 18,702, while France’s CAC was set to dip by around 10 points to 7,483. Italy’s FTSE MIB meanwhile was set to fall by around 39 points to 33,784.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index had closed higher on Tuesday.

In Europe, inflation figures for August are due out of the U.K., with economists polled by Reuters expecting the headline figure to come in at 2.2%.

That comes ahead of the Bank of England meeting and interest rate policy decision scheduled for later this week. It is a busy week for central banks, with the Bank of Japan and the U.S. Federal Reserve also scheduled to meet.

The Fed is all but guaranteed to announce an interest rate cut on Wednesday, which would be its first since it started hiking rates in March 2022.

Traders are however split about the magnitude of the cut. Chances of a 50-basis-point reduction have been rising in recent days and last stood at 65% according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

U.S. stock futures were little changed ahead of the Fed decision. Asia-Pacific markets were meanwhile mixed on Wednesday.

Back in Europe, the final reading of euro zone inflation figures for August is also due.