Europe shares edge up but early fall on Wall Street before Fed

European shares climbed, while US stocks fell in early trade Wednesday, after investors reacted to disappointing earnings forecasts from heavyweights Apple and Boeing, with all eyes on the US Federal Reserve's first policy statement since raising interest rates.

Sliding oil prices and lacklustre company results, combined with falling Chinese equities, pushed Europe's main indices lower earlier in the session, but they pulled back to close in positive territory.

In Paris, the CAC 40 was tentatively higher, closing 0.54 percent firmer, while Germany's DAX was up by 0.59 percent and the FTSE 100 led the way with a 1.33-percent jump as oil prices rebounded.

As markets awaited the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting, the first since the central bank implemented its first rate hike in almost a decade in December, US stocks fell shortly after opening.

About 50 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.96 percent lower, with shares in Apple and Boeing plummeting.

No change in policy is expected, but attention will be focused on the Federal Open Market Committee's statement at 1900 GMT for possible announcements about weak inflation and slow global growth.

GKFX analyst James Hughes said hints of more stimulus from the ECB had been "the major talking point" but with "little in the way" of concrete moves or evidence that prior measures were working, "the market is of course sceptical of any new big moves".

"The Fed decision tonight will have many hoping that the Fed did not move too soon on its initial rate hike. However, any dovish comments in the statement will lead to fears that the Fed will move away from their initial timeline of hikes for 2016," he added in a note.

Craig Erlam, of Oanda, noted the Fed's role as a "key player" in financial markets and said "any indication that the rate tightening cycle is going to be slower could have a significant impact".

Apple shares sank 5.0 percent after the tech giant reported only minimal growth in iPhone sales, its main money-maker, in its fiscal first quarter and forecast the first decline ever in iPhone sales in the current second quarter.

Boeing meanwhile slumped 10.0 percent after offering a disappointing 2016 outlook, saying revenues and deliveries could fall, and offering an earnings per share forecast well below what analysts were expecting.

- Most of Asia up -

Earlier, most Asian stocks pushed higher, aided by falling oil prices that cut fuel costs for companies, with Shanghai standing alone, sinking 0.5 percent to extend Tuesday's heavy falls on fresh Chinese economic woes.

The Japanese central bank winds up its own two-day monetary policy gathering on Friday.

Shanghai stocks slid Wednesday on data showing that profits at China's industrial giants sank 4.7 percent last month, extending November's fall and highlighting ongoing economic weakness.

Over the whole year, profits dropped 2.3 percent, which analysts said marked the first contraction since 1998.

However, most other Asian stock markets swung back into positive territory, as the wild swings that have marked the start of the year showed no signs of abating.

Experts said the volatility that has stalked world trading floors this year was unlikely to end any time soon.

Trillions of dollars have been wiped off valuations since the start of the year, with the recent slump in crude prices -- to 12-year lows -- and China's ongoing economic struggles driving the sell-off.

Japanese shares led the advances Wednesday, with the Nikkei up 2.7 percent by the close.

The gain was helped by car giant Toyota, which announced it sold more than 10 million cars last year and retained the title of world's biggest automaker.

Hong Kong added 1.04 percent and Seoul ended 1.4 percent higher, but Sydney fell 1.2 percent as investors returned from a one-day public holiday.

- Key figures around 1645 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 1.33 percent at 5,990.37 points (close)

Frankfurt - DAX UP 0.59 percent at 9,880.82 points (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.54 percent at 4,380.36 points (close)

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.35 percent at 3,043.47 points

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.7 percent at 17,163.92 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 2,735.56 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 1.0 percent at 19,052.45 (close)

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.96 percent at 16,012.63 points

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0868 from $1.0868 Tuesday

Dollar/yen: UP 0.43 percent at 118.93 yen from 118.42 yen