- Deutsche Bank posts surprise rise in quarterly profit
- Mercedes jumps after reporting better-than-expected auto margins
- GSK gains after full-year sales forecast hike
Oct 29 (Reuters) - European shares edged higher on Wednesday, with investors assessing a slew of corporate earnings while awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate decision later in the day.
The continent-wide STOXX 600 index rose 0.1% at 576.41 points, as of 0950 GMT. The UK's FTSE 100 hit a fresh record high, last up 0.5%.
The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates by a quarter-percentage point at the end of its policy meeting on Wednesday, and investors are watching out for any forward-looking commentary from Chair Jerome Powell.
Meanwhile, the latest earnings forecasts released on Tuesday showed the outlook for European corporate health has slightly improved. It would, however, still be the worst quarterly performance since the first quarter of 2024.
"European earnings entered this season with a very low bar. We are seeing beats come through, most notably from the banks, but that's not yet sufficient to move the needle to justify overall European equity optimism at this juncture," said Laura Cooper, senior macro strategist at Nuveen.
"The U.S. tech trade is going to continue to dominate, and we likely need to see a more meaningful catalyst in Europe for investors to embrace that European optimism story once again."
Europe's auto stocks rose 1.8%, led by a 5.7% gain in Mercedes, after the German carmaker reported stronger-than-expected margins at its core autos business.
The healthcare sector added 0.6%. GSK rose 2.8% after the drugmaker raised its 2025 sales and earnings expectations. Straumann advanced 6.2% after the dental implant maker reported a rise in third-quarter organic sales.
Mining stocks rose 1.6% and banks gained 0.9%.
Conversely, the broader telecom index fell 0.9% and defence stocks lost 0.8%.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are set to meet in South Korea on Thursday.
Among corporate updates, Deutsche Bank rose 1% after it posted a 7% increase in third-quarter profit.
UBS fell 1.1% despite the bank reporting a 74% surge in third-quarter net profit, beating expectations.
Adidas fell 3.6% after its group sales dipped 5% in North America in the third quarter.
The ECB is expected to leave rates unchanged at its policy meeting on Thursday.
In the U.S., Nvidia jumped 3.1% in premarket trade after CEO Jensen Huang announced $500 billion in AI chip orders and plans to build seven supercomputers for the U.S. government.
Focus is also on the "Magnificent Seven" tech titans, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta Platforms, who are scheduled to report earnings later on Wednesday. The bar is high for them to deliver solid numbers that would justify stretched valuations.
Reporting by Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Vijay Kishore
Source: Reuters