Leading shares are heading higher after overnight news of a hefty Turkish interest rate eased fears of a burdgeoning emerging markets crisis.
Mining shares are the biggest gainers, both on hopes that growth in the global economy will not be stalled by another setback and after a couple of positive production reports.
Antofagasta has added 40p to 862.5p after it reported record copper production for the year and said its cash costs would remain at the same level in 2014 as last year. It produced 721,000 tonnes of copper in 2013, ahead of forecasts, and predicted 700,000 tonnes for this year.
Meanwhile Anglo American is up 72p at 1415.5p as it said iron ore production rose by 25% in the fourth quarter to 11.3m tonnes from a year ago. This was a recovery from the third quarter, following problems at its Sishen mine.
Overall the FTSE 100 is up 45.31 points at 6617.64, but there was still some caution despite the Turkish news and India's move on Tuesday to lift its own cost of borrowing. The increases are designed to protect the countries' currencies but they will also be affected by what the US Federal Reserve does next. The Fed announces its latest decision this evening and there is a belief among some analysts that it will trim its $75bn monthly bond buying programme by another $10bn, which could send emerging markets into another spin. Rebecca O'Keeffe at Interactive Investor said:
Central bank intervention has been the saviour of markets over the past two years and it was no different this morning with Turkey, among others, stepping in to stop their currency rout. With equity markets desperate for a reason to rise, this supporting move is exactly what investors need. However, with the danger of escalating currency crises in a number of different countries, investors will need to be brave to contend with the risks that are currently attached to these markets.
Elsewhere J Sainsbury has slumped 2.5% to 348p on the surprise news that chief executive Justin King is stepping down in July.
