Europe: Stocks gain before Fed decision

[WELLINGTON] European stocks climbed for the first time in six days and the euro strengthened as investors awaited what will probably be the first Federal Reserve interest-rate hike in almost a decade this week. Copper and the dollar fell.

The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 1.2 per cent at 8.14 am in London. France's CAC 40 rallied 1.7 per cent and Germany's DAX Index advanced 1.6 per cent.The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.6 per cent.

The euro appreciated for a third day, while Bloomberg's dollar index fell 0.3 percent. Copper led industrial metals lower and Brent crude dropped for an eighth day. Gold headed for its biggest increase in a week. "Investors are focusing on the Fed," Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities Co in Tokyo, said by phone. "They want to see what the Fed will announce on the target interest rate at the end of 2016. There's market consensus that rates will rise this week, but it is unclear what happens after that."

A sense of nervousness prevails in global financial markets as investors start a count down to Wednesday's Fed meeting, where US policy makers are expected to end a seven-year era of near-zero borrowing costs. Weakness in high-risk credit markets has sparked fear of contagion, unsettling markets along with the gyrations in crude oil.

BLOOMBERG