FTSE rallies as Bernanke gives green light to taper

The FTSE 100 climbed in early trading in line with other major equity markets as the US Federal Reserve moved to taper its bond buying programme.

The index rose by as much as 1.2% this morning to 6,564, before falling slightly to trade at 6,553 at 11.30am, a rise of 0.95%. Last night the Fed voted to reduce its asset purchase programme by $10bn per month from January 2014, taking it from $85bn to $75bn. It will scale back its treasury purchases by $5bn to $40bn a month, and its mortgage-backed securities purchases by $5bn to $35bn a month. The Dow climbed 1.84% on the news to 16,168 while the S&P 500 rose 1.66% to 1,810, marking new highs for both indices.  The news also lifted Europe's main markets, with the EuroStoxx 50...