European shares edged higher on Wednesday, mirroring gains on Wall Street and in Asia, with investors awaiting the outcome of a crucial rate-setting meeting of the US Federal Reserve for hints about the market's near-term direction.
Casino surged 7 per cent, among the best performers in Europe, after the French retailer had said late on Tuesday it plans to raise more than 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in 2016 by selling part of its real estate portfolio in Thailand and Colombia as well as its Vietnam operations.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst index was up 0.18 per cent at 1,413.49 points by 0806 GMT, after climbing 2.9 per cent in the previous session following a rebound in crude oil prices.
The Fed is widely expected to announce a rate hike after the end of its two-day policy meeting. It would be the first US rate hike in nearly a decade, signalling the beginning of an end to an expansionary monetary policy that has supplied a tidal wave of liquidity to risk asset markets globally.