European shares rise ahead of Fed

European shares rose early on Wednesday, tracking sharp gains on Wall Street ahead of the US Federal Reserve's latest policy announcement. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index up 0.44 per cent to 6,430.14 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 advanced 0.78 per cent to 9,139.00 points and in Paris the CAC 40 gained 0.35 per cent to stand at 4,126.97.  Shares in French pharma group Sanofi bucked the trend, dropping 5.3 per cent and adding to the previous session's slump, after its board said on Wednesday it had decided to oust chief executive Chris Viehbacher. At 0807 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.4 per cent at 1,321.69 points, led by mining shares such as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton up 0.9-1.2 per cent, climbing along with metal prices, according to Reuters.