1630: Close UK equity markets charged higher on Tuesday, driven by comments from the US Federal Reserve and a raft of upbeat company reports. The FTSE was also boosted by the news that the Dow Jones index leapt to a record high not seen since 2007, lifted by positive services data. Leading the way on the top tier London index was Serco after it revealed that full year revenue rose 5.7 per cent to 4.9bn pounds, underpinned by a strong performance in international markets. Wood Group also rose strongly after it posted a 20 per cent rise in revenue from continuing operations in its full year ended December 31st, boosted by growth in all three divisions. The FTSE closed up 86 points at 6,432.

1538: In an interview with CNBC the founder of hedge fund Duquesne Capital, Stanley Druckenmiller, warns listeners that the current move higher in US stocks may be nearing its final stretch and that if they are thinking of wading [playing in his own words] into equities then they should do so in liquid issues - usually larger capitalisation stocks - so that it is easier to get out should signs emerge that things are going awry. FTSE 100 up 80 to 6,426.

1509: Stock of Ophir Energy is trying to break technical resistance after a successful placing of shares earlier.

1500: The US ISM services sector gauge has risen to the 56 point level for the month of February, from 55.2 in the previous month (Consensus: 55.0). Several of main subindices logged gains, such was the case for that on new orders, backlog of orders and new export orders.

1230: London stocks are holding near their best levels of the day and the year. That comes on the back of dovish comments from US Fed Vice-Chairman Janet Yellen - last night - and after signs that authorities in both Europe and China will loosen their fiscal policies in a bid to buttress growth. Serco led the way after investors were cheered by a 20 per cent rise in its full year dividend. The FTSE was up 52 points at 6,397.

0930: The Markit/CIPS service sector purchasing managers index for the month of February has come in at the 51.8 point mark, slightly ahead of last month´s reading of 51.5 and expectations for a small slide to 51.3. The data has sent Footsie over the psychological level of 6,400.

0851: UK stocks have begun the day higher, boosted by the strong showing seen overnight on Wall Street. Leading the charge are shares of Wood Group, which has posted a solid 20 per cent rise in revenue from continuing operations for its full year ended on December 31st. Serco is another strong performer after the release of its own preliminaries. WPP is one of the few issues which is down today, after being downgraded by analysts at Berenberg to sell (Investec has reiterated buy). UK services PMI data is on tap for 09:30 and it may be more important than some think. "The main interest will be whether this release corroborates the weakness seen in the February manufacturing PMI. If so, it would increase the chance that the MPC votes for more QE on Thursday," Barclays Research says. FTSE 100 up by 44 to 6,390.

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