European stocks closed lower on Wednesday as investors made cautious moves, digesting the latest batch of economic data and looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's interest rate move due later in the day.
The U.S. central bank is likely to deliver the first cut to interest rates in more than four years but there is a debate about the size of reduction after data showed U.S. retail sales unexpectedly ticked up in August in a sign of ongoing consumer resilience.
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Market Analysis
May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.