European shares open higher ahead of Fed’s rate decision

European shares started trading higher on Wednesday, boosted by the rise in the shares of the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, while hopes rose that the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) might hint at a slowdown in the pace of monetary tightening at its meeting later in the day, Wednesday.

According to “Reuters”, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.3% by 0812 GMT, with Novo Nordisk’s stock achieving a 4.5 percent jump, with the company raising its full-year profit forecast based on strong sales of the diabetes drug Osmbek and announcing better-than-expected earnings. ‎

Health care shares rose 0.9% and the banking sector rose 0.4%, before what is expected to be the fourth consecutive hike by the US Central Bank of interest rates by 75 basis points.

But attention is still focused on whether the US central bank may ease monetary policy tightening.