German retail sales fall unexpectedly in Dec
France39;s CAC 40, Copenhagen39;s OMX 20 touch record highs
Novastis falls on Q4 net income miss

Jan 31 Reuters European shares gained on Wednesday, rising for the sixth straight session, on a boost from robust corporate updates, while investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve39;s policy decision later in the day.

The panEuropean STOXX 600 index was up 0.1 as of 0934 GMT.

Financial services rose 0.4, lifted by a 1.1 gain in Spanish lender Santander, which posted a recordhigh profit for the last quarter of 2023, beating forecasts.

Industrials received a push from shares of Beijer Ref, up 7.5 after the Swedish wholesaler of cooling technology reported fourthquarter sales above expectations and forecast continued growth in 2024.

Investor attention was centred on the Fed39;s interest rate verdict, due at 1900 GMT, for clues regarding the timing of interest rate cuts in the world39;s largest economy.

The Fed is likely to open the door further to rate cuts at its policy meeting today, while leaving rates on hold this month, analysts at UBS Global Wealth Management noted.

But recent solid growth and labor data from the U.S. suggest the Fed will likely not rush to start cutting rates at the pace markets currently expect.

Upbeat earnings reports from Europe Inc and increasing bets around an interest rate cut from the European Central Bank drove the index to twoyear highs earlier this week, and on course to clock its third…