London - Britain's top equity index rose on Wednesday as expectations the US Federal Reserve will signal it is in no rush to raise interest rates buoyed stock markets, while positive broker comments lifted Intertek.
Intertek, which carries out tests and inspections to make sure that products meet health and safety standards, rose 4.1 percent to make it the best-performing stock in percentage terms on the blue-chip FTSE 100 index.
Traders attributed Intertek's move higher to a decision by Citibank to reiterate a “buy” rating on the stock, while JP Morgan also kept an “overweight” rating on Intertek after getting positive feedback from a meeting with its management.
“Intertek's meeting with JP Morgan last night left them impressed,” said Securequity sales trader Jawaid Afsar.
However, clothing retailer Next slipped 1.6 percent after Next cut its profit guidance, saying that unusually warm weather had impacted demand for its winter wear.
The FTSE 100 itself was up by 0.6 percent at 6,442.32 points going into the middle of the trading session, tracking similar gains on global equity markets ahead of the Fed's meeting.
The US central bank is expected to announce after a policy meeting that it is ending its bond purchases amid signs of strength in the US economy, but is also likely to reinforce its willingness to wait before raising interest rates after a volatile month in financial markets.
The FTSE 100 hit a peak of 6,904.86 points at the start of September, its highest since early 2000, but it then slumped to 15-month lows in October as weak European economic data knocked back stock markets.
Traders have said that this backdrop of financial market volatility and a fragile European economy should mean that the Fed will look to reiterate its willingness to hold off from any rise in interest rates in the near term.
“We're seeing evidence that people are anticipating a more dovish Fed in response to the slowdown in the euro zone and the disinflation that has been gripping many of the major economies,” said Alpari UK market analyst Craig Erlam. - Reuters