Europe close: Stocks end higher with Fed in focus

(Sharecast News) - European shares were mostly higher at the end of the week as attention turned once again to central bank meetings in the US and UK.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 0.42% to 557.16. Germany's DAX advanced 0.21% to 23,748.86, while Britain's FTSE 100 dipped by 0.07% to end at 9,277.03.

Policy makers at the US Federal Reserve gather on Wednesday while the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee meets a day later.

Markets are pricing in a 25 basis point US rate cut as a 96.2% certainty after recent data showed a weaker labour market amid worries over the impact of US President Donald Trump's tariff policies. On the other side of the pond, the BoE is expected to make no change.

"While the focus lies squarely on the Fed this week, the equity rally shows no sign of slowing down on Wall Street," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

"Friday's record for the Dow has been followed up by new milestones for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100. Of course, there might be some 'buy the rumour, sell the fact' action later in the week, but for the moment stocks continue to ignore any possibility of September weakness."

In equity news Rubis shares jumped on a report that CVC Capital Partners and Trafigura were interested in buying the fuel retailer.