FTSE 100 seen higher as Federal Reserve keeps US interest rates near zero, US, Asian stocks climb

The FTSE 100 is projected to tack on nearly 1% today after a late rally in the US stock market following a late rally on Wall Street in response to the Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates at the current ultra low levels.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average turned an early loss into a 0.4% gain, while the broader S&P 500 index advanced 0.5% and the technology heavy NASDAQ composite was up 0.8%.
Asian markets also were in bullish mode as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.4%, China’s Shanghai composite index improved 0.4%, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 2%, South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 1% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.2% higher.
The UK blue chip index shed 1.1% yesterday, pushed down by losses in the mining and financial sectors. Hedge fund managed Man Group (LSE: EMG) and part-nationalised bank RBS (LSE: RBS) were at the bottom of the pile with losses of 6.5% and 5% respectively, while Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW) followed with a 4.5% decline. Silver and gold miner Fresnillo (LSE: FRES) and plumbing and heating equipment manufacturer Wolseley (LSE: WOS) shed more than 3.5% and bank Barclays (LSE: BARC), base metal focused miners Anglo American (LSE: AAL) and Xstrata (LSE: XTA) and catered Compass Group (LSE: CPG) lost more than 3%.
Just six FTSE 100 constituents added more than 1%. Insurance focused investor Resolution (LSE: RSL) climbed 2.4%, while beverage group SABMiller (LSE: SAB) followed, tacking on 1.6% British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS), interdealer broker ICAP (LSE: IAP) and defence contractor Cobham (LSE: COB) followed with gains of over 1%, while chocolatier Cadbury (LSE: CBRY) was 1% higher.
Commodities
Oil prices were lower as March Brent Crude slid to US$72.37/barrel, while US light, sweet crude was down to US$73.84/barrel.
Precious metals also extended losses with gold sliding to US$1,087/oz, while silver and platinum retreated to US$16.52/oz and US$1,509/oz respectively.
Base metals followed with copper and nickel declining to US$3.20/lb and US$8.09/lb, while zinc slipped below US$1/lb, settling at US$0.98/lb.
Investors will be looking to the weekly jobless claims and Chicago Fed index updates that are due out in the US today. Ford (NYSE: F), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and AT&T (NYSE: T) are scheduled to report on their quarterly results today.  http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/12690/ftse-100-seen-higher-as-federal-reserve-keeps-us-interest-rates-near-zero-us-asian-stocks-climb-12690.html