Investor focus locks on Fed as China rout slows

Investor focus locks on Fed as China rout slows

LONDON- Global equities regained some poise on Wednesday as a storm in Chinese stocks showed signs of easing, while the dollar made modest gains as investors awaited a Federal Reserve meeting. After two sessions of falls, Europe's pan-continent STOXX 600 index added 0.3%, helped by encouraging earnings reports from Barclays, Deutsche Bank and French luxury group Kering. That gave investors some relief from worrying about China after a wave of heavy selling in recent days on the back of broadening regulatory crackdowns. The rout appeared to slow on Wednesday as Chinese blue chips closed up 0.2%, but the Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.6% down, its lowest close since March 10. After Asian markets closed, focus quickly turned to the Fed. Investors are primed for any hints on when the central bank will start reducing its purchases of government bonds and any new insight into its views on inflation and economic growth. "In the background, you have the ripple effect of the Chinese crackdown and a lot of companies reporting today, but the Fed is the major event," said Francois Savary, chief investment officer at Swiss wealth manager Prime Partners. "Are we going to get a timetable on tapering Is it