S&P 500

US markets followed shares across Europe higher overnight, while the dollar also surged, ahead of the latest Federal Reserve meeting in the States which may map out a QE exit strategy.

Gordon Grender, manager of the GAM North American Growth fund, is holding a fifth of his portfolio in cash as he struggles to find attractive valuations in the US market.

Wall Street rallied at the start of the session today after non-farm payroll numbers from the US beat expectations.

Wall Street extended losses on Wednesday as fears deepened that the Federal Reserve will pull back its quantitative easing programme.

US markets dipped at opening on Friday following worse-than-expected consumer spending, rounding off a down week which has seen some of the heat come out of equities.

INCOME

Legg Mason Capital Management veteran Bill Miller is backing airlines in his Opportunity fund, a sector he said has been "uninvestable" until recently.

EQUITY

LATIN AMERICA

Japan's benchmark index has broken through the 15,000 barrier for the first time since 2008 as investors continue to cheer policymakers' efforts to weaken the yen.