LONDON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - European shares edged higher in early deals on Wednesday, buoyed by a fresh batch of company earnings reports ahead of a Federal Reserve policy decision later in the day.
Brewer Heineken HEIN.AS rose 3.9 percent, the top FTSEurofirst 300 riser, after reporting strong sales in Europe and the Americas that came in above expectations. Belgian pharmaceutical firm UCB UCB.BR rose 3.7 percent after its own well-received results.
Carmaker Volkswagen (DE:VOWG) VOWG_p.DE also rose 3.2 percent after announcing its first quarterly loss in at least 15 years.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 was up 0.1 percent at 1,470.79, having fallen by 1 percent in the previous session. It is 1.8 percent below a two-month high hit last week.
The Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates unchanged after European markets close on Wednesday, and may struggle to convince skeptical investors it can tighten monetary policy before the end of the year in the face of U.S. and global economic headwinds.
"October's FOMC statement is likely to include dovish tweaks to the descriptions of payrolls and activity," strategists at BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) said in a note.