Luxury stocks push European shares lower, all eyes on Fed

Losses in luxury stocks dragged European shares lower on Wednesday, while investors remained wary of making big bets ahead of a widely expected interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Swiss luxury goods group Richemont fell nearly 5%, weighing the most on the pan-European STOXX 600 index, while Swatch declined 2.4% after a bearish note by UBS. The benchmark European index dipped 0.1%, with Paris-listed shares lagging the most.

The Fed is due to release its policy statement at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), where it is expected to reduce U.S. borrowing costs for the second time this year, despite deep divisions among policymakers about whether a cut is needed. French utility EDF was the top gainer on STOXX 600, up almost 3%, after it said there was no need to close any of its nuclear reactors for now following the discovery of problems with weldings.

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