Summary In London, Rolls-Royce shares won 2.35 percent to stand at 1,045 pence.
LONDON (AFP) - European equities mostly fell Wednesday in subdued deals as traders tracked the latest takeover news and company results, and awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve s latest meeting.
London s FTSE 100 index of leading companies added 0.14 percent to stand at 6,779.26 points just after midday, boosted by news of a dividend hike for oil giant Shell.
Frankfurt s DAX 30 dipped 0.03 percent to 9,581.18 points and in Paris the CAC 40 shed 0.40 percent to 4,479.67 compared with Tuesday s closing levels.
Madrid s IBEX 35 index reversed 0.21 percent to 10,438.80 points.
"The FTSE 100 is struggling to find grip," said Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at online broker Interactive Investor.
"A largely positive earnings season, increase in M&A (merger and acquisition) activity and no shocks expected from the Fed -- the market is well positioned for more upside," he added.
- Alstom in focus again -
In Paris, French engineering giant Alstom topped the CAC leaderboard, after its energy division was targeted this week by rival approaches from General Electric and Siemens.
Alstom s share price soared 9.28 percent to 29.505 euros as trade resumed after a suspension.
Across in Frankfurt, Siemens share price added 0.91 percent to 95.01 euros.
Separately, Siemens also revealed it was in talks with Rolls-Royce over a possible acquisition of the British firm s energy production arm.
In London, Rolls-Royce shares won 2.35 percent to stand at 1,045 pence.
However, the British capital s top gainer was Royal Dutch Shell, whose B share price jumped 4.71 percent to 2,545.5 pence as a shareholder dividend hike eclipsed news of slumping first-quarter profits.
Later on Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve will reveal the outcome of its latest policy meeting, with observers tipping a further cut in its multi-billion-dollar asset-purchase scheme as the economy shows further signs of improving.
In addition, Washington will release its initial estimates of gross domestic product growth for the first three months of the year, which saw a severe winter storm hit most of the country.
- Asia trades mixed -
Asian equities also traded mixed on Wednesday despite a healthy overnight lead from Wall Street.
Hong Kong shares sank 1.42 percent as investors braced for the Fed to announce more stimulus cuts.
On the upside, however, Tokyo stocks gained 0.11 percent and Shanghai added 0.30 percent on the last day of a holiday-shortened week.
"Despite the spectre of the US Federal Reserve upping the pace of the tapering process later today, it s been a decidedly mixed session for Asian equities," noted Valutrades analyst Joao Monteiro.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, the price of gold fell to $1,292.74 an ounce on the London Bullion Market, from $1,297.75 on Tuesday.
In foreign exchange trading, the euro rose to $1.3827 from $1.3811 late in New York on Tuesday.
The European single currency climbed to 82.21 British pence from 82.07 pence, while the pound declined to $1.6817 from $1.6826 on Tuesday.
