Markets rise ahead of bank meetings

LOBAL markets climbed higher ahead of the latest updates from central banks in the UK and US. Traders in London were calm and confident ahead of today’s Bank of England update, with analysts expecting rates to be held.

The FTSE 100 closed 102.39 points, or 1.47%, higher at 7,083.37 on Wednesday.

Danni Hewson, AJ Bell financial analyst, said: “Central banks have the power to shake and stir markets, so it probably says something about exactly what investors are expecting to hear from both the Fed later today and the Bank of England tomorrow that both London and Wall Street seem positively upbeat.

“Taper tantrums and rate rise ripples look to be on the backburner and fears of an imminent Evergrande collapse have also abated somewhat.

“The FTSE 100 has sailed happily above the 7,000 mark thanks to a really positive showing from miners helped by healthier commodity prices.”

Europe’s other leading markets also made positive strides. The German Dax increased by 0.93% and the French Cac moved 1.2% higher

Sterling, meanwhile, wavered earlier in the day due to concerns over the UK’s exposure to soaring gas prices but made gains against a soft dollar. The pound was up 0.16% versus the US dollar at 1.366 and was 0.14% higher against the euro at 1.164.

The price of oil rebounded further as smaller OPEC producers struggled to increase output and US inventories declined by more than expected. Brent crude increased by 1.64% to 75.58 dollars per barrel.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Antofagasta, up 91.5p at 1,420.5p, Entain, up 116p at 2,377p, Standard Chartered, up 19.4p at 429.4p, and HSBC, up 15.65p at 375.4p.

The biggest fallers of the day were Severn Trent, down 42p at 2,775p, Kingfisher, down 4.9p at 345p, United Utilities, down 13.5p at 1,030.5p, and National Grid, down 10.7p at 947p.