STOXX 600 hits one-week low as banks, insurers slide ahead of Fed decision

By Tristan Veyet and Johann M Cherian

Sept 16 (Reuters) - European shares fell more than 1% at close on Tuesday, weighed down by rate-sensitive sectors, as investors turned cautious in the run-up to the U.S. Federal Reserve's highly anticipated monetary policy verdict on Wednesday.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed down 1.15% to 550.73 - a one-week low - with financials .SXFP, banks .SX7E and insurance .SXIP carrying losses between 2% and 2.1%.

Germany's DAX .GDAXI, France's CAC 40 .FCHI and Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE also incurred steep losses.

The Fed's two-day policy meeting is widely expected to conclude in a 25-basis-point interest rate cut on Wednesday, potentially the first dovish policy verdict this year following signs of a weaker U.S. job market. Some traders even see a potential 50-bps cut.

"If the Fed did (cut by) 50 bps, you could interpret that things were worse than we thought they were, that the jobs market was slowing down or there was something happening with economic figures that we weren't seeing," said Rebecca Chesworth, a senior equities strategist at State Street Investment Management.

"That could be interpreted either way because we're in a market which can flip very quickly," she said.

The decision will also come at a time when investors have also been worried about political interference in the U.S. central bank's independence.

U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee Stephen Miran was sworn in to the Fed's Board of Governors on Tuesday, adding a new voice around the policy table, while Lisa Cook will also attend the meeting, as an appeals court blocked Trump's efforts to fire her.

"The market now is certainly awaiting not so much the interest rate decision of tomorrow, but will be looking for answers about future monetary policy," said Teeuwe Mevissen, senior market economist at Rabobank.

Shares of hiring firms took a hit after SThree STEMS.L issued a profit warning, sending shares of the British employment service provider down 26% to their lowest level since December 2008.

Other recruiters also recorded losses, with Adecco Group ADEN.S falling 5.1%, Hays HAYS.L down 4.1% and Randstad RAND.AS shedding about 3%.

The luxury index .STXLUXP meanwhile rose 0.2%, even as L'Oreal OREP.PA dropped 2.9% after Jefferies downgraded the cosmetics giant to "Underperform" from "Hold".

Basic Resources .SXPP jumped 0.34%, capitalising on higher copper prices.

Among others, Schindler SCHP.S fell 3.4% after an investor sold shares of the lift maker through an accelerated bookbuilding process at about an 8.4% discount to the stock's last close.

Swedish video game group Embracer EMBRACb.ST jumped 4.7% to a one-month high to the top of STOXX 600, with analysts pointing to a price target hike by Kepler Cheuvreux as a potential driver.

Thyssenkrupp TKAG.DE surged 4.3% after the German conglomerate received a non-binding bid for its steel unit from a division of Indian conglomerate Naveen Jindal Group.