Standard & Poor’s today downgraded Japan’s sovereign rating from AA to AA-, citing the nation’s high fiscal deficit.
However, the move had little effect on the markets, which were boosted by the results of the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) latest policy meeting.
The Fed reaffirmed its commitment to the stimulus policy that is currently in place.
In addition to that, the Commerce Department reported that new home sales in the US surged 17.5% in December from November.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.2% in the morning, stopping less than 20 points short of 6,000.
Precious metal miners Fresnillo (LON:FRES) and Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) led the FTSE 100 with gains of 4.7% and 4.1% respectively.
Hedge fund manager Man Group (LON:EMG) advanced 3.1%.
Software developer Sage Group (LON:SGE) and insurer Old Mutual (LON:OML) added 2.5% and 2.2% respectively.
Clothing retailer Next (LON:NXT) was at the bottom of the pile with a 2.2% decline.
Defence and aerospace systems manufacturer BAE Systems (LON:BA) climbed 1.3%.
Elsewhere in Europe, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.3%, Spain’s IBEX 35 rallied 0.9% and Germany’s DAX rose 0.5%.
In Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rallied 1.5%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.3%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 0.75% and South Korea’s KOSPI tacked on 0.2%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined marginally.
Futures for the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 indexes in the US rose marginally in the morning.
Today’s macroeconomic data will include US pending home sales, jobless claims and the Chicago Fed index.