Markets Overview: (Source: Bloomberg, FT, Reuters, DJ Newswires)

UK Index called to open +38pts at 6820 following comments from Yellen overnight. As expected the Fed backed another $10N in QE taper but Yellen said that growth is bouncing back and repeated that interest rates will remain low for a “considerable time”.

These comments from the Fed caused the S&P 500 to rise 0.8% and hit a new all-time high of 1956.98pts, the Nasdaq jumped 0.6% to its highest closing level since 2000, and the Dow also advanced 100pts to finish above 16900. Of note the German DAX is called higher by 65pts at 10,000 just 30pts away from all-time highs reached last week.  However with the UK Index still some 130pts away from all-time highs will this give it the boost needed to break these levels?

Asian markets rose following the upbeat US trading session, and also  by comments from Premier Li Keqiang, who pledged to sustain China’s economic expansion forecast. The Nikkei shrugged off a strong yen to finishing higher by 1.6% at 15,360pts. Strong gains by miners helped the Australian ASX higher by 1.5%, bouncing back from recent declines.

In focus today we have UK retail sales at 9:30am followed by jobless data in the US at 13:30pm.

In commodities, US crude oil futures fell further on Wednesday after a weaker than expected draw on supplies while European benchmark Brent continued to rise on concern about Iraqi oil supplies. Gold advanced to $1279 as investors looked ahead to the outcome of the two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting.

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Key Overnight Macro Data: (Source: Reuters/DJ Newswires)

• AU          RBA Foreign Exchange Transaction           IN-LINE
• JP            All Industry Activity Index                            WORSE
• JP            Coincident Index                                              IN-LINE

See Live Macro calendar for full details

UK Company Headlines: (Source: Reuters/DJ Newswires)

• Kier awarded 140 mln stg housing association contract
• Balfour Beatty awarded 180 mln stg UK highways contract
• Man Group buys Numeric Holdings for initial $219 mln
• Darty full-year adjusted pretax profit rises
• Carillion awarded two contracts worth 300 mln stg
• Rolls-Royce launches 1 bln stg share buyback
• Wincanton secures new banking facility
• Lamprell secures fabrication contract from Petrofac Emirates
• British regulator proposes margin rules for BT fibre
• Quindell appoints new CEO
• Go-Ahead Group sees rail unit beating expectations for FY