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Volvo up on strong orders in Q4

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LVMH slumps as sales growth disappoints

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Fed rate decision due at 1900 GMT

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Germany's DAX at record high, Spain's IBEX at 16-yr peak

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STOXX 600 at record high, up 0.5%

(Updates for market close)

By Nikhil Sharma and Johann M Cherian

Jan 29 (Reuters) - European shares closed at a record

high on Wednesday, boosted by technology stocks following strong

results from chip equipment maker ASML, while investors shifted

their focus to a monetary policy verdict by the U.S. Federal

Reserve.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.5%, logging its

biggest one-day jump in more than one week. The technology

sector led gains with a 2.5% jump, making it the biggest

daily rise in three weeks.

ASML jumped 5.6% after the Dutch company reported

better-than-expected fourth-quarter bookings of 7.09 billion

euros ($7.39 billion).

The chip equipment maker's earnings also reassured

investors that AI chip prospects were still healthy, as they

recovered from a selloff earlier this week sparked by the

release of China's DeepSeek's model, which uses less computing

power than those of rivals.

Other semiconductor stocks STMicroelectronics, BE

Semiconductor and ASM International gained

between 0.8% and 3.1%.

Other AI-exposed stocks such as Schneider Electric

and Siemens Energy, which took a hit on Monday, were

trading 4.7% and 4.9% higher, respectively.

Focus is now on the Fed's monetary policy decision, due at

1900 GMT. The U.S. central bank is expected to keep policy rates

unchanged and investors will be keen on Chair Jerome Powell's

comments on the outlook on interest rates this year.

On Thursday, the European Central Bank is expected to

cut rates by 25 basis points.

"With (U.S. President Donald Trump) back in the

spotlight and the complexities of setting monetary policy in the

face of potential tariffs, (ECB President Christine) Lagarde's

press conference will be a must-watch as she tackles the

challenge of delivering a clear message on the outlook in these

politically charged times," said Neil Hutchison, European

liquidity strategies portfolio manager at J.P. Morgan Asset

Management.

Meanwhile, Germany's DAX added 0.9% to close at a

record high, boosted by a 4.5% jump in Deutsche Telekom

after U.S. peer T-Mobile issued a robust

subscriber growth forecast.

Swedish truck maker Volvo jumped 7.7% after

reporting strong orders for the fourth quarter.

Limiting gains, LVMH fell 4.9% as the luxury goods

group's sales growth failed to impress investors following a

string of strong results from rivals and recent price gains.

Rivals Kering and Christian Dior also

declined about 5% respectively. The French benchmark CAC 40

index was the only benchmark among major EU economies in

the red.

Sweden's SEB fell 4.2% after narrowly missing

quarterly net profit expectations and proposed a

lower-than-expected total dividend for the year.

Spain's IBEX index rose 1% to hit a more than

16-year high after data showed the economy expanded a

stronger-than-expected 3.2% in 2024.