By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets retreated from
multiyear highs on Tuesday, ahead of the two-day U.S. Federal
Reserve meeting at which the central bank could start scaling back
its aggressive easing program.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.5% to 312.00, after closing at
the highest level since June 2008 on Monday.
Among notable movers in the index, shares of Lloyds Banking
Group PLC (LYG) fell 2.3% to 76 pence after the U.K. government
placed the whole of a planned 6% stake in the bank at 75 pence per
share.
Shares of Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLCNF) dropped 2.9% after UBS
cut the commodity giant to neutral from buy.
For the broader European stock markets, investors were hesitant
of making any big moves ahead of the policy decision from the U.S.
Fed on Wednesday. The Fed kicks off its two-day meeting on Tuesday
and investors speculate the central will start scaling back its
$85-billion-a-month asset purchases after recent signs of an
improvement in the economy.
U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street.
Among country-specific indexes in Europe, Germany's DAX 30 index
dropped 0.3% to 8,592.33, after closing at the highest level on
record on Monday.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index gave up 0.4% to 6,598.86, while
France's CAC 40 index lost 0.4% to 4,135.52.
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