The European Union saw its shares closing faintly in green today as U.S. housing starts for May missed estimates amid concern the Federal Reserve will signal stimulus cuts at its policy meeting starting today and accordingly mixed sentiments are spread so far throughout the EU local stock market.

CAC 40 Index  

The French index climbed 3.11 points or 0.08% to finally close at 3860.55. The index started the session at 3874.29 and recorded throughout the day its highest level at 3873.04 and its lowest level at 3870.87.

Best performing stocks within the index were the Sanofi SA share which inclined 1.24% to settle at €81.55, in second place came the Danone SA share which closed higher by 1.06% at €57.60 and in the third place came the Schneider Electric SA share which inclined 0.86% to settle at €57.50.

The worst performing shares in terms of subtracted value for the index were led by the BNP Paribas SA share as it plummeted 0.87% to end at €44.13, following is the AXA SA share as it shed 1.29% to settle at €16.06, while coming in third is the Schneider Electric SA share which slumped 1.77% to close at €89.56.

DAX Index  

German equities advanced today as the benchmark index DAX 30 closed the session higher by 13.78 points or 0.17% at 8196.44. The index started the session at 8241.60 and recorded throughout the day its highest level at 8241.60 and its lowest level at 8176.19. 

Best performing stocks within the index were the Infenion Technologies AG share which inclined 4.45% to settle at €6.84, in second place came the Commerzbank AG share which closed higher by 2.11% at €7.54 and in the third place came the Deutsche Boerse AG share which inclined 1.96% to settle at €47.18.

The worst performing shares in terms of subtracted value for the index were led by the Lanxess AG share as it plummeted 1.08% to end at €53.96, following is the BMW AG share as it shed 0.96% to settle at €69.87, while coming in third is the Daimler AG share which slumped 0.91% to close at €47.18.

FTSE 100 Index  

The British benchmark index ended the day higher to settle at 6374.21 with a gain of 43.72 points or 0.69%. The index started the session at 6330.49 and recorded throughout the day its highest level at 6397.33 and its lowest level at 6311.35.

Best performing stocks within the index were the HSBC Holdings PLC share which inclined 2.13% to settle at £696.00, in second place came the Vodafone Group PLC share which closed higher by 0.90% at £184.35 and in the third place came the BT Group PLC share which inclined 2.34% to settle at £319.30.

The worst performing shares in terms of subtracted value for the index were led by the GlaxoSmithKiline PLC share as it plummeted 0.59% to end at £1676.00, following is the Diageo PLC share as it shed 0.74% to settle at £1886.00, while coming in third is the Glencore Xsastra PLC share which slumped 0.59% to close at £310.20.

The U.S. dollar climbed against the yen for a second day Tuesday, as traders weigh in the possibility of an early exit to the Federal Reserve’s record monetary stimulus.

The two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) ends tomorrow, and Bernanke will hold a press conference after the meeting. Some traders anticipate the Fed to signal the U.S. economy is almost reading to reduce in monthly bond purchases.

Economists believe Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will try to soothe investor nerves after a two-day policy meeting ends on Wednesday and that explains the dollar`s rise against the yen.

Uncertainty about the Fed has led to a sell-off in global stocks in recent weeks, helping the safe-haven yen to its best weekly gain in nearly four years against the dollar last week.

A winding down of the central bank`s $85 billion-a-month bond purchase would boost the dollar, which has been hit by the Fed`s money-printing program over the past several years.

The dollar rose 1.0 percent to 95.197 yen having hit a two-month low of 93.784 yen on Thursday, and hit a high of $95.756 earlier today. Data as of 12:00 p.m. ET

The euro rose 1.5 percent to 128.028 yen, up from a low of 127.029, having earlier hit a high of 129.328

Since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called late last year for radical monetary easing to revive the economy, dollar/yen has been driven higher by rises in Japanese share prices.

However, worries that China is slowing coupled with talk of the Fed withdrawing stimulus led to a stocks selloff and a sharp rise in volatility. This drove investors to the yen which tends to benefit in times of market turmoil.

The dollar briefly hit a session peak versus the yen, while the euro extended gains after data showed U.S. consumer prices rose in May and a gauge of underlying price pressures showed signs of stabilizing after a long decline, a potential comfort to Federal Reserve policymakers who would like to see stronger inflation.

The Euro rose 0.3 percent to $1.34040 against the dollar, having reached a four-month high of $1.34145 after ZEW data showed German analyst and investor sentiment rose in June.