Europe: Shares edge higher, focus on Fed decision

[LONDON] European shares edged higher in early trading on Tuesday, with investors waiting for the outcome of a crucial policy meeting of the US Federal Reserve on interest rates.

A Fed announcement is scheduled for Thursday after a two-day meeting at which it will decide whether or not to make its first interest rate increase since 2006.

At 0710 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.3 per cent at 1,398.06 points. The index ended 0.5 per cent lower in the previous session.

E.ON and RWE both fell about 2 per cent after Spiegel Online reported that German energy companies were short of as much as 30 billion euros (S$47.5 billion) of the money they need to set aside to build a safe disposal site for nuclear waste as part of the country's exit from nuclear power.

REUTERS