Stocks rallied ahead of the close but finished slightly lower on a day that was dominated by uncertainty surrounding the Federal Reserve annual meeting.

The Fed still has tools to stimulate the economy chairman Ben Bernanke said, while declining to provide details as to when they might be used.

AMEC, which yesterday reported a strong performance in its mining and power and process divisions and increased activity in the UK North Sea but a reduction in activity levels within the oil sands and federal businesses in the first half of 2011, was on the slide.

Some director buying helps boost Admiral though. Chairman Alastair Lyons has bought 20,000 shares at 1,272p while non-executive director John Sussens's wife Cheryl bought 22,000 at 1,320p.

Transport logistics firm Stobart Group was a heavy faller on the FTSE 250 after it said its transport and distribution division is back on the right track in August after a difficult period in June and July.

Eastern Europe-focused oil producer Exillon Energy was out of favour despite moving into the black in the first half of 2011, as production hit record levels for the company.

Berendsen, the FTSE 250 workwear textile rental and laundering services firm, also disappointed even though it said it was able to up its adjusted profits by 18% in the six months ended 30 June, as it made good progress in the implementation of its strategic review.

Specialty chemicals producer Yule Catto rose higher after it posted sharp rise in half year pre-tax profit helped by strong demand from Asia and its PolymerLatex acquisition.

Sales at low emission power products developer Ceramic Fuel Cells surged by 81% during the 12 months ended 30 June, but losses widened as operating expenses were increased. Shares fell into the red.

FTSE 100 - Risers
ITV (ITV) 57.85p +3.58%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,878.00p +3.36%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,257.00p +3.20%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,318.00p +3.05%
Investec (INVP) 406.10p +2.84%
Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 603.50p +2.37%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,227.00p +2.16%
National Grid (NG.) 602.00p +2.12%
Diageo (DGE) 1,192.00p +1.88%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,798.00p +1.87%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 21.88p -5.20%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 29.71p -4.11%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,607.00p -3.54%
Amec (AMEC) 849.50p -3.03%
Glencore International (GLEN) 377.15p -2.92%
Prudential (PRU) 573.00p -2.63%
Aviva (AV.) 311.60p -2.26%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 309.80p -1.99%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 163.40p -1.98%
Barclays (BARC) 155.00p -1.84%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 79.50p +6.00%
Perform Group (PER) 169.00p +4.77%
Computacenter (CCC) 369.50p +4.14%
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 340.40p +3.53%
Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 549.50p +3.39%
Kofax (KFX) 330.20p +3.35%
Soco International (SIA) 307.70p +3.08%
Rank Group (RNK) 130.00p +2.77%
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 256.90p +2.72%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 544.00p +2.64%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Exillon Energy (EXI) 269.60p -5.40%
Regus (RGU) 64.00p -4.48%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 113.60p -4.05%
Lancashire Holdings (LRE) 623.00p -4.01%
Berendsen (BRSN) 489.20p -3.70%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 420.00p -3.67%
Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 128.00p -3.32%
Premier Foods (PFD) 12.73p -3.27%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 605.00p -3.12%
CSR (CSR) 218.00p -3.02%

Related share prices
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) share price
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) share price
Rio Tinto (RIO) share price
Amec (AMEC) share price
ARM Holdings (ARM) share price
Yule Catto & Co (YULC) share price
Admiral Group (ADM) share price
Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) share price
Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd. (CFU) share price
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) share price
Resolution Ltd. (RSL) share price
Exillon Energy (EXI) share price