US stocks rose quickly on news that that the Federal Reserve plans to keep interest rates unchanged for the foreseeable future

UK shares are set to race ahead after a rally by stocks in the U.S and Far East after the FED left interest rates were left unchanged.

Kingfisher Britains number 1 home DIY retailer reported first-half underlying profits which beat expectations on Wednesday but said recent sales had slowed. Profits of 309 million pounds compared with top analysts' estimates of 290 million pounds. It was a rise of about 24 percent and stripped out its Kesa Electricals unit. Recent sales at Kingfisher have slowed, as expected, due to the hot weather but the retailer said there would be no big profit impact. The combined group took an anticipated 280 million pound exceptional charge, mostly relating to the demerger of Kesa. Dividends were increased by approx 3%

Kesa Electricals said it had made an encouraging start to the second half of its year in its first set of results. The owner of UK electrical chain Comet said pre-tax profit for the 26 weeks ended August 2 was up 32.7 percent to 60 million pounds. The firm declared an interim dividend of 2.5 pence per share

Xstrata Plc London-listed miner reported better-than-expected first-half profits and said the year ahead would be good on the back of recovering world markets and commodity prices. Profit fell to $76.8 million during the half year to June 30 from $112.9 million a year earlier, but well above the consensus figure of $68 millionBAT: A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of all damage claims against U.S. cigarette makers in a suit brought by two health maintenance organizations to recover smoking-related health care costs. Moody's Investors Service said it may still cut British American Tobacco's BAA1 long-term senior unsecured ratings.WS Atkins: consultancy, support services and engineering firm said l it expected to report interim and full year results ahead of its June forecasts and significantly better than last year.

News will be posted at 7:35am

Hiscox insurer said first-half operating profit more than doubled, beating consensus estimates of 25 million pounds

Taylor & Francis educational and professional publisher said its interim pre-tax profit climbed 24 percent, citing high renewal rates at its journals and strength in U.S. book sales. Profit for the six months was 16.5 million pounds. Turnover rose 12 percent to 73.9 million pounds.

United Kingdom  (F)inals (I)nterim	United States  (GMT)	Europe & World (GMT)
Wed 17th Sep Kingfisher (I) PBT 266.4m exp. Xstrata (I) PBT US$73m exp.Taylor & Francis Group (I) PBT 39.4m exp. Corporate Services Group (I), Development Securities (I), Hiscox (I), Huntleigh Technology (I), Kesa Electricals (I), Kier Group (F), Robotic Tech Systems (I), Xansa (AGM) 09.30 Bank of England Minutes 09.30 Aug Unemployment 2.3k exp. 09.30 July Average Earnings 3m y/y 3.2% exp.	FedEx (Q2) 13.30 Aug Housing Starts 1825k exp. 19.00 Aug Monthly Budget Statement -$78.0bn exp.	Elan Corp (Q2) 11.00 Aug CPI y/y 2.1% exp. 11.00 July Trade Balance
Ex Dividend: Aegis Group (0.52), Amlin (0.85), Brambles Industries (4.053), Cadbury Schweppes (3.65), Carillion (1.575), Chelsfield (2), Diageo (15.7), Gallaher Group (9.45), Goldshield Group Plc (1.45), Guiton Group (3.54), Highway Insurance Holdings (0.8), HMV Group (3.4), IMI (6),Jurys Doyle Hotels (EUR 0.081), Kingspan (EUR 0.026), McInerney Holdings (EUR 0.05), Michael Page International (1.1), Molins (4.6), Monsoon (3.5), Nestor Healthcare (3.48), P&O (4.5), Provident Financial (13.1), Rank Group (4.6), Rathbone Brothers (10), Renishaw (11.36), Robert Walters (1.05), Roxboro (3.1), Schroders (5.5), Schroders NV (5.5), Spring Group (0.1), Staffware (2), Torex (1.15), Whatman (1.62), Woolworths (0.36), WSP Group (2)
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