(fxcue news) - European stocks advanced on Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision on Wednesday and the Bank of England's announcement, due on Thursday. The Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates, but there remains some debate about the size of the rate cut. The U.K. CPI report due on Wednesday may significantly influence market speculation for the Bank of England (BoE) interest rate path for the last quarter of the year. Meanwhile, the headline German ZEW Economic Sentiment Index dropped further to 3.6 in September from 19.2 reported in August, a survey showed today. U.S. retail sales data for August along with comments by European Central Bank's supervisor Claudia Buch and board members Elizabeth McCaul and Frank Elderson may influence trading sentiment later in the day. The pan European STOXX 600 was up half a percent at 517.90 after falling 0.2 percent on Monday. The German DAX edged up 0.4 percent, France's CAC 40 added half a percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.8 percent. In corporate news, Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut jumped 6.5 percent after Barclays raised its rating on the stock to "overweight" from "underweight". EssilorLuxottica was little changed. The global leader in eyewear has extended its partnership with Meta Platforms by entering into a new long-term agreement. British home improvement retailer Kingfisher surged 6.6 percent after raising the lower end of its fiscal 2025 profit guidance. Playtech, a gambling software development company, tumbled 3 percent after it entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of Snaitech S.p.A. and certain of its units to Flutter Entertainment. Essentra, a leading global manufacturer, and provider of essential components and solutions, plummeted 20 percent after downgrading its FY24 profit expectations, citing market challenges.