European stocks rose moderately today, due to the announcement of a new round of sanctions against Russia and the expectations of the outcome of the Fed meeting.

Today, EU governments agreed to impose economic sanctions against Russia, aimed at its oil industry, defense industry, dual-use technology and thin, diplomats said. Sanctions will be imposed for 3 months, after which the EU will assess the situation again, said one of the diplomats. The fate of discussions on the proposed EC sanctions against Russian state banks is still unclear. These measures were taken in response to the Russian involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine and downed earlier in the month of passenger aircraft.

Investors were also cautious in anticipation of the announcement of the outcome of the Fed meeting. The central bank will probably priderzhetsya their schedules and reduce program of monthly purchases of bonds by $ 10 billion per month - up to $ 25 billion Meanwhile, preliminary data on U.S. economic growth in the second quarter, scheduled for Wednesday, and the employment report for July, which is scheduled Friday is expected to show that the economic recovery is stored.

Little influenced by the U.S. data, which showed that in July the index of consumer confidence in the U.S. jumped to 90.9 points, which was the maximum value of the index since October 2007. This was reported by a research organization Conference Board, which calculates this indicator. However, the indicator value for June was revised from 85.2 points to 86.4 points. Analysts had expected the index to increase to 85.5 points from the previously specified level. Indicator of the attitude of U.S. consumers to the current financial situation in July rose to 88.3 points compared with 86.3 in the previous month. The index of consumer expectations for the next six months jumped to 92.7 points from 86.4 points.

National benchmark indexes rose in 12 of the 18 western European markets.

FTSE 100 6,807.75 +19.68 +0.29% CAC 40 4,365.58 +20.81 +0.48% DAX 9,653.63 +55.46 +0.58%

The value of shares BP Plc fell during trading 2.5% even though the fact that the British oil company increased its net profit in the 2nd quarter of 2014 by 33% - to $ 3.182 billion BP profit excluding one-off factors and changes in inventories was $ 3.6 billion, exceeding the median forecast of experts at $ 3.4 billion

Paper Spanish construction company Ferrovial SA rose 1.2%. Ferrovial recorded in the 1st half net profit of 168.4 billion euros, which was better than analysts had expected 145 million euros. In addition, the company announced plans to buy back its own shares to 350 million euros.

Shares of British Next Plc, control network of clothing stores rose 2.5%. The pace of revenue growth in the 1st half of fiscal amounted to 11%, exceeding the expectations of experts (9.5%), which allowed the company to improve its revenue and profit forecasts for the current year.

Michelin shares jumped 1.8%, rebounding after the recession that followed the tire manufacturer's message of a lower-than-expected earnings in the first half.

Airbus Group shares fell 0.92% after the group said it terminated an order for six A380 aircraft to Skymark Airlines.

U.S. stock futures advanced amid optimism over corporate earnings before a Federal Reserve policy decision tomorrow.

Global markets:

Nikkei 15,618.07 +88.67 +0.57%

Hang Seng 24,640.53 +211.90 +0.87%

Shanghai Composite 2,183.19 +5.24 +0.24%

FTSE 6,827.11 +39.04 +0.58%

CAC 4,381.81 +37.04 +0.85%

DAX 9,668.32 +70.15 +0.73%

Crude oil $100.74 (-0.92%)

Gold $1308.40 (+0.39%)

(company / ticker / price / change, % / volume)

Upgrades:

Downgrades:

Wal-Mart (WMT) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman

Other:

European stocks erased their advance as Renault SA dragged carmakers lower, offsetting reports of better-than-expected profit at companies including BP Plc and Ferrovial SA. U.S. index futures were little changed, while Asian shares climbed.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.1 percent to 341.01 at 9:14 a.m. in London, erasing a gain of as much as 0.3 percent. The benchmark trades at 15.5 times the projected earnings of its members, more than the multiple of 13.9 at the beginning of this year and the five-year average of 12.6, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 0.2 percent today, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.3 percent.

"What we are still missing is a very positive beat, but the outlook for the year and the results in the third quarter will be more important," said Carsten Hilck, who oversees about $4 billion at Union Investment Privatfonds GmbH in Frankfurt. "Even though valuations are a little bit stretched now, it's still not too expensive to remain invested."

Renault slid 3.2 percent as the French carmaker revealed that it is consuming more cash than it did a year ago.

BP climbed after the oil producer also announced a dividend that matched estimates.

Ferrovial gained 1.4 percent after the Spanish construction company posted first-half profit that exceeded projections and said it will buy back shares.

FTSE 100 6,803.96 +15.89 +0.23%

CAC 40 4,346.12 +1.35 +0.03%

DAX 9,603.03 +4.86 +0.05%

Asian stocks rose for a third day, with the regional benchmark index extending a six-year high, ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting starting today.

HANG SENG 24,633.64 +205.01 +0.84%

S&P/ASX 200 5,588.4 +11.01 +0.20%

TOPIX 1,290.41 +4.34 +0.34%

SHANGHAI COMP 2,183.04 +5.09 +0.23%

Nissan Motor Co. climbed 1.9 percent after carmaker's earnings beat analyst estimates on higher sales in China.

Keyence Corp. jumped 3 percent in Tokyo after the supplier of sensors and measuring instruments reported a 33 percent increase in first-quarter net income.

QBE Insurance Group Ltd. tumbled 11 percent after Australia's second-biggest insurer said profit in the six months ended June 30 may fall 18 percent due to higher claims in Argentina.

(index / closing price / change items /% change)

Nikkei 225 15,529.4 +71.53 +0.46%

Hang Seng 24,428.63 +212.62 +0.88%

Shanghai Composite 2,177.95 +51.33 +2.41%

FTSE 100 6,788.07 -3.48 -0.05%

CAC 40 4,344.77 +14.22 +0.33%

Xetra DAX 9,598.17 -45.84 -0.48%

S&P 500 1,978.91 +0.57 +0.03%

NASDAQ 4,444.91 -4.65 -0.10%

Dow Jones 16,982.59 +22.02 +0.13%