Investing.com - European stocks were broadly higher on Wednesday, as investors were eyeing the Federal Reserve's highly-anticipated policy statement due later in the day.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.67%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.52%, while Germany’s DAX 30 climbed 0.55%.
Investors were looking ahead to the Fed's monetary policy announcement due later Wednesday for fresh indications on the timing of an initial rate hike.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) climbed 0.54% and 0.60%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) lost 0.21% and 0.76%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MI:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) gained 0.59% and 0.62% respectively, while BBVA (MC:BBVA) fell 0.20% and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) rose 0.37% in Spain.
In earnings news, Heineken (AS:HEIN) surged 4.03% after the world's third-largest brewer posted a rise in third-quarter revenue and beer volumes.
In London, FTSE 100 edged up 0.13%, helped by BT Group (L:BT), whose shares surged 4.49% after the company's bid to acquire Deutsche Telekom (DE:DTEGn) and Orange's British wireless venture EE has was approved by U.K. regulators.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were broadly lower, as Barclays (L:BARC) dropped 0.50% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (L:RBS) declined 0.74%, while Lloyds Banking (L:LLOY) saw shares plunge 4.21%.
Earlier Wednesday. Lloyds was hit by a further £500 million charge to compensate customers that were mis-sold loan insurance.
The lender also reported an underlying pre-tax profit of £2 billion pounds in the third-quarter, down from £2.2 billion a year ago.
Mining stocks were also on the downside. Shares in Rio Tinto (L:RIO) tumbled 1.36% and Anglo American (L:AAL) lost 2.55%, while Antofagasta (L:ANTO) plummeted 3.77%. Glencore (L:GLEN) overperformed however, with shares climbing 0.47%.
Next PLC (L:NXT) added to losses, with shares declining 0.88%, even after the retailer reported a 6% year-on-year increase in third-quarter full price sales and said that its full-year guidance remains broadly unchanged.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.08% uptick, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.16% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.21% gain.