London close: Markets move higher with Fed decision in focus

After a subdued start, the FTSE 100 finished with impressive gains on Tuesday as investors put aside worries ahead of the key 'risk event' of the week, the monetary policy meeting at the Federal Reserve.Banking stocks in London were performing well today after the China Securities Journal suggested that the People's Bank of China could reduce interest rates to reduce the debt burden on companies. The paper also raised the possibility of a cut in the reserve requirement ratio, which would help free up funds for banks to spur loan growth. Meanwhile, Wall Street benchmarks started the day strongly after US housing starts rebounded in May, albeit by a lower-than-expected rate, as the recovery in the American housing market continues.All eyes on the FedGlobal indices have sunk sharply over the last month as markets priced in an eventual 'tapering' of quantitative easing (QE) after a series of robust US economic figures.However, ahead of the conclusion of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting tomorrow evening, market participants have turned more optimistic given the inevitability of 'tapering' and are instead hoping for comforting signs from the Fed that it will not pull the plug prematurely."Traders are hoping that the Fed will dampen market fears over imminent scaling back of asset purchases and will manage market expectations by providing some details on possible dates when the Fed will taper. Traders are also looking for a commitment that rates will remain at ultra-low levels while the Fed tapers," said Market Strategist Ishaq Siddiqi from ETX Capital this afternoon."[...] At present, it's uncertain that the US economy is on a path of self-sustaining recovery and for that reason, immediate tapering of all asset purchases is unlikely to take place," he said.FTSE 100: Whitbread jumps as Costa drives strong first-quarter growthWhitbread was performing well on Tuesday after the company reported a decent first quarter with group sales up 13.8%, boosted by growth at Premier Inn and another strong performance from Costa which saw sales jump by an impressive 24.8%. Whitbread said that while sales in its restaurants had been affected by the unseasonably poor weather in the 13 weeks to May 30th, Costa had benefitted from the cold snap. Financials were also in demand today with RSA Insurance gaining after Credit Suisse raised the stock to 'outperform', saying that a "multitude of factors that have weighed on returns at RSA will abate over the next two years, leading to an upswing in reported earnings." HSBC meanwhile was lifted by Citigroup to 'buy' following its recent underperformance. Banking peers Lloyds, Barclays and RBS was also on the advance.easyJet was flying high after buying 100 New Generation A320 aircraft from Airbus for delivery from 2017 to 2022. Heading the other way were the miners as recent volatility in the sector continued. ENRC, Fresnillo, EVRAZ, Antofagasta and Polymetal were among the worst performing stocks on the blue-chip index today, shrugging off rumours of a rate cut in China. Senior Market Analyst Michael Heson from CMC Markets said that this suggested that "demand concerns are now starting to outweigh the boost any stimulative measures can bring to the Chinese economy".Temporary power and temperature control supplier Aggreko was also a heavy faller after reporting mixed trading in its two main divisions in the first half - the Local business continues to grow strongly while Power Projects growth was subdued.Security solutions group G4S was also in the red after Goldman Sachs reiterated its 'conviction sell' recommendation and cut its target price for the stock on the back of emerging-market FX weakness.FTSE 250: SDL hammered after profit warningTranslation and communications software firm SDL plummeted after cutting its outlook for the current financial year following a first-half performance that was below management expectations. Profit before tax and amortisation is now expected to be within the range £15-20m in 2013 compared to £35.5m in 2012.Engineering software groupAVEVA was among the highest risers on the second-tier index after Citigroup upgraded the stock from 'neutral' to 'buy', saying that the business is "designed for good growth". Investors were clearly shrugging off the news that long-running Chief Executive Officer Richard Longdon had sold £1.92m of shares in the company.FTSE 100 - RisersWhitbread (WTB) 3,031.00p +3.62%Croda International (CRDA) 2,461.00p +3.01%BT Group (BT.A) 319.30p +2.34%Standard Life (SL.) 375.20p +2.26%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 323.00p +2.22%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 120.40p +2.21%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,316.00p +2.17%BAE Systems (BA.) 395.70p +2.17%easyJet (EZJ) 1,279.00p +2.16%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 696.00p +2.13%FTSE 100 - FallersEurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 229.60p -4.45%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,073.00p -2.19%Aggreko (AGK) 1,752.00p -2.18%Antofagasta (ANTO) 879.00p -1.95%Polymetal International (POLY) 638.00p -1.92%Evraz (EVR) 117.30p -1.59%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,664.00p -1.58%Sage Group (SGE) 333.20p -1.39%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 264.70p -1.27%G4S (GFS) 241.70p -1.27%FTSE 250 - RisersTelecity Group (TCY) 999.00p +8.41%FirstGroup (FGP) 99.35p +7.99%Aveva Group (AVV) 2,373.00p +5.37%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 235.00p +4.68%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 126.00p +4.30%Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,619.00p +4.12%Hiscox Ltd (HSX) 555.00p +4.03%Atkins (WS) (ATK) 982.50p +3.42%Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 306.00p +3.00%Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 2,159.00p +2.66%FTSE 250 - FallersSDL (SDL) 271.00p -29.88%NMC Health (NMC) 304.00p -5.82%Greene King (GNK) 770.00p -3.51%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 124.50p -3.26%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 38.25p -2.35%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 207.40p -2.22%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 116.60p -2.10%Vesuvius (VSVS) 371.10p -1.88%Petropavlovsk (POG) 143.80p -1.78%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 299.00p -1.71%