Global Stocks Muted as Earnings Disappoint

Soft corporate earnings reports kept global stocks subdued Wednesday, as investors looked ahead to a monetary-policy decision from the Federal Reserve.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was flat in early trade, following modest losses in Asia. Futures pointed to a small opening loss for the S&P 500. Changes in futures don't necessarily reflect market moves after the opening bell.

After Wall Street closed Tuesday, Apple and Twitter both posted revenue that fell short of analysts' expectations, sending shares in both companies down sharply in after-hours trading.

Corporate earnings reports were somewhat more encouraging in Europe on Wednesday. Shares of Barclays were up over 4% after the bank reported a 7% fall in first-quarter net profit, while shares of Adidas were on track to pass all-time highs after the sportswear group raised guidance for the year and posted strong preliminary first-quarter data.

Later Wednesday, investors will closely parse the Federal Reserve's policy statement, set for release at 2 p.m. EDT, for clues about a potential interest-rate rise in June.

In commodities, Brent crude was last up 1.4% at $46.240 a barrel, on track for its highest settlement this year, after the American Petroleum Institute reported U.S. crude inventories likely decreased by 1.1 million barrels last week.

Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 27, 2016 04:35 ET (08:35 GMT)

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