Europe: Stocks little changed as investors watch Greece, Fed

[LONDON] European stocks were little changed, amid continued debate over Greece's fate, and speculation the Federal Reserve will signal a slow pace of monetary tightening.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained less than 0.1 per cent to 385.58 at 8:27 am in London. Shares rebounded Tuesday from their biggest two-day drop since April, as a rally in German shares outweighed a slide in Greek stocks.

Evan as Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras intensified his criticism of the country's creditors, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she will continue to do everything possible to keep Greece in the euro.

Greece has snubbed European pleas to submit a new proposal to avert insolvency, saying it was up to creditors to make the next move. The lenders say it's the other way around. The focus now shifts to a meeting of finance ministers on Thursday and a June 25-26 summit of European Union leaders.

The Fed concludes its two-day policy meeting Wednesday, amid speculation mixed US economic data and a deadlock over Greece may complicate the central bank's drive to raise interest rates.

Traders put the odds of a September rate hike at 47 per cent in the US Tuesday, down from 53 per cent as recently as last Friday, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Fed Chair Janet Yellen may provide further clues at a press conference Wednesday after European markets close.

Among stocks moving on corporate news, Telecom Italia SpA rose 3.5 per cent after a person familiar with the matter said Vivendi SA may increase its stake in the Italian company to as much as 15 per cent.

Remy Cointreau SA jumped 7 per cent after the French distiller reported full-year operating profit that beat analyst estimates.

BLOOMBERG