A television station broadcasts the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold rates after a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images<\/p>\n
LONDON \u2014 European stocks are expected to open broadly higher on Wednesday as the market fallout of the Iran war remains in the spotlight ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s next policy move. <\/p>\n
The U.K.’s FTSE 100<\/a> is set to trail other European markets with a flat open. Germany’s DAX<\/a> and France’s CAC 40<\/a>\u00a0are seen trading around 0.5% higher, while Italy’s FTSE MIB<\/a> is expected to add around 0.8%, according to data from IG.<\/p>\n Global markets trended higher on Tuesday despite oil prices rising above $100 per barrel on resurgent supply concerns amid the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump this week lambasted NATO allies for refusing to assist with efforts to protect ships attempting to travel through the Strait of Hormuz, but said in a\u00a0Truth Social<\/a>\u00a0post on Tuesday that the U.S. did not need help. <\/p>\n Oil markets remain in focus<\/a>; prices slipped overnight despite escalating attacks on the United Arab Emirates’ energy infrastructure, as rising U.S. crude inventories helped offset rising geopolitical risk premiums.<\/p>\n Investors are now looking ahead to the Fed’s interest rate decision expected later on Wednesday. Markets are expecting the central bank to\u00a0keep interest rates unchanged<\/a>\u00a0in a range between 3.5% to 3.75%. <\/p>\n Traders will be watching for any guidance from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on whether oil prices could impact future monetary policy decisions.<\/p>\n In Europe, investors are looking ahead to EU inflation data due later in the session. It comes ahead of monetary policy decisions from the European Central Bank, Bank of England, Riksbank and Swiss National Bank on Thursday.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, earnings come from Tencent<\/a>, Munich Re, and Eni<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 CNBC’s Pia Singh and Lee Ying Shan contributed to this market report.<\/p>\n