BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks are likely to open higher on Wednesday after Apple Inc reported sharp growth in its services business and its CEO Tim Cook said trade tensions between the U.S. and China were easing.
Investors also await cues from the FOMC meeting and another round of U.S.-China trade talks for further direction.
On the Brexit front, U.K. MPs have voted to avoid a no deal Brexit and urged Prime Minister Theresa May to reopen a Brexit treaty with the European Union to replace a controversial Irish border arrangement.
However, EU Council President Donald Tusk described the deal rejected by MPs as the 'best and only way to ensure an orderly withdrawal'.
Asian stocks are rising and U.S. stock futures advanced as investors await the outcome of high-level U.S.-China trade talks. China's Vice Premier Liu He is in Washington this week to meet U.S. officials, including President Trump.
Gold held near 8-1/2-month highs and oil prices held stable while the British pound nursed losses on Brexit uncertainty.
Overnight, U.S. stocks ended mixed as investors fretted about the effects of trade tensions and slowing growth in China.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose around 0.2 percent while the S&P 500 slid 0.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.8 percent.
European markets closed higher on Tuesday despite lingering concerns about Brexit uncertainty, U.S.-China trade disputes and global economic slowdown.
The pan European Stoxx 600 rose 0.8 percent. The German DAX edged up 0.1 percent, France's CAC 40 index climbed 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rallied 1.3 percent.
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