EUROPE'S main stock markets have mostly risen in cautious deals before the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting, dealers say.
In late morning deals on Wednesday, London's FTSE 100 index of top blue-chip companies added 0.55 per cent to 6,607 points and Frankfurt's DAX 30 edged 0.02 per cent higher to 8,272.80 points, while the Paris CAC 40 eased 0.03 per cent to 3,985.5 points.
Despite the gains in London, Barclays shares sank 1.13 per cent to 288 pence as investors continued to react to news of a vast STG12.8 billion ($A21.65 billion) hole in the British bank's balance sheet.
The stock had already plunged by 5.74 per cent on Tuesday.
In foreign exchange activity, the euro firmed to $US1.3282 from $US1.3261 in New York late on Tuesday.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold advanced to $US1,331.78 an ounce from $US1,324.15 on Tuesday.
"The two-day meeting of the policy arm of the Federal Reserve comes to a conclusion today which may lead to more subdued market conditions as traders leave any decision-making on both short- and medium-term direction until after the announcements," said CMC Markets analyst Nick Dale-Lace.
Asian markets mostly fell on Wednesday in the final hours before investors discover the Fed's plans for its massive stimulus program.
Traders have remained cautious ahead of the central bank meeting, although most economists are confident it will indicate that its $US85-billion-a-month bond-buying policy will remain in place for the time being.
All eyes will be on the accompanying statement from the Fed's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
Ahead of the Fed announcement at 1800 GMT (0400 AEST Thursday), markets digested a raft of economic data in Europe.
Unemployment held at record highs in the 17-nation eurozone in June, but there was some hope of an improvement as the numbers of those out of work fell slightly, official data showed on Wednesday.
The overall eurozone jobless rate came in at 12.1 per cent, unchanged from May, the Eurostat data agency said.
On a more upbeat note, the number of unemployed people fell by 24,000 to 19.26 million, according to Eurostat.
"Encouraging unemployment data for the eurozone has got things off to a positive start on Wednesday," said analyst Craig Erlam at trading firm Alpari.
"However, investors are clearly focused on one thing today, the FOMC statement, with European indices and US futures only trading marginally higher in response to the figures."
Meanwhile, official data showed that the unemployment rate in European powerhouse Germany held steady at 6.8 per cent in July, but the number of jobless fell by 7,000.
"A busy day dawns for markets, with a bombardment of data that leaves little time for traders to rest," added IG analyst Chris Beauchamp.
"It started early this morning with weak German retail sales, but the picture got better as both German and Italian employment data showing welcome improvement."
In Paris, shares in PSA Peugeot Citroen surged by slightly more than 7.0 per cent on results showing an almost halving of losses in the first six months.
Aerospace group EADS reported strong overall figures for the first half and a name change to Airbus.
In Germany, the giant industrial conglomerate Siemens named a new chief executive to restore credibility with shareholders.
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