EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Inch Higher Ahead Of Fed Call

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets moved cautiously higher on Wednesday as investors waited for a policy decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve and minutes from the Bank of England's June meeting.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.2% to 346.94, setting it on track for an almost one-week closing high.

Helping lift the index, shares of Hennes & Mauritz AB (HNNMY) advanced 0.7% after the Swedish fashion retailer reported a 25% rise in second-quarter profit and said it plans to add up to 10 new online markets.

Voestalpine AG gained 1.6% after Citigroup lifted the steel maker to buy from neutral. The analysts said the company's long-term re-rating story "remains under-appreciated by the market."

More broadly, investors waited for the U.S. Fed to conclude its two-day meeting in Washington. The central bank is widely expected to slash another $10 billion from its quantitative-easing program, bringing the monthly amount of asset purchases down to $35 billion. If the Fed sticks at that pace, its easing could end in October with a final cut of $15 billion, analysts at HSBC have noted. Read: What brokerages are saying about the FOMC meeting on Wednesday

Market observers will also be scrutinizing updated economic projections from the Federal Open Market Committee and the "dots" that reflect the individual members' view on the rate path. Read: Markets to Fed: Give us the 'dot plot' and go home

U.S. stock futures were mixed ahead of the meeting.

Among European benchmarks, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index gained 0.3% to 6,786.44 ahead of the minutes from BOE's monetary-policy decision earlier in June, when the central bank kept rates and QE unchanged. Expectations are mixed ahead of the release, with some economists forecasting that one or two members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted in favor of tightening policy.

BOE Governor Mark Carney said last week that interest rates could rise sooner than markets currently expect, triggering new forecasts from some analysts.

Germany's DAX 30 index climbed 0.1% to 9,926.27, while France's CAC 40 index was slightly higher at 4,537.47.

More must-reads from MarketWatch:

Mark Carney's salary at the Bank of England is four times what Janet Yellen is paid at the Fed

Iraq's largest oil refinery attacked

Dollar edges up against rivals ahead of Fed

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires