European Stocks Slump Ahead Of Fed, Scotland Vote

(RTTNews) - European stocks settled lower Tuesday in cautious deals ahead of tomorrow's pivotal monetary policy decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Uncertainty about the Fed's rate hike outlook and Scotland's referendum on independence from the U.K. has kept investors in a nervous mood this week.

In European economic news, Germany's investor confidence weakened only slightly in September, according to the Centre for European Economic Research/ZEW.

The ZEW economic sentiment index fell to 6.9, which was above economists' forecast for a score of 5. In August, the index reading was 8.6.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is losing 0.44 percent.

The German DAX eased 0.41 percent, the French CAC 40 lost 0.5 percent and the FTSE 100 index of the U.K. lost 0.35 percent. Switzerland's SMI was flat.

Orange slipped 1.5 percent after announcing a friendly voluntary tender offer to acquire Spanish broadband provider Jazztel for about $4.3 billion in cash. Jazztel rose 6.2 percent in Madrid.

Airbus inched up 0.25 percent. The firm announced portfolio optimization in its Defence and Space unit, under which certain businesses in non-core segments would be divested as they do not fit its strategic goals.

Asos said it expects flat annual earnings. The stock dropped 9 percent.

Thomas Cook rose 6 percent after issuing a trading update.