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July 31 (Reuters) - European shares steadied early on
Wednesday, as strong results from French bank BNP Paribas
countered a poor report from British bank Lloyds in a market
marking time ahead of a keenly-awaited U.S. Federal Reserve
decision on interest rates.
A quarter-point cut by the Fed on Wednesday has been fully
priced in by money markets, but investors will be looking at the
comments with the decision for signs of how far it could go with
further easing this year to support growth.
The Fed's decision is expected after European market hours
at 1800 GMT, with Chair Jerome Powell scheduled to hold a press
conference soon after.
By 0713 the pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX was down
0.08%, steadying after its worst day in nearly three months in
the previous session, when stocks globally took a beating from a
toughening of Trump's trade rhetoric against China.
France's largest bank by assets, BNP Paribas BNPP.PA rose
3.1% after a strong performance by its corporate and investment
banking division buoyed quarterly profits. Lloyds Banking Group LLOY.L , Britain's biggest mortgage
lender, dropped 4.4% after posting weaker-than-expected pretax
profits.