Good morning traders!

In the US last night, the Dow rose 111 points to 15,680, the Nasdaq added 12 points
at 3,952 and the S&P500 gained 10 points at 1,772.

In Asia today, the Nikkei was recently up 112 points at 14,438 and the Hang Seng
ahead 214 points at 23,060.

WTI crude oil traded at $98.20 a barrel and Brent crude at $109.01.

Gold settled at $1,345 an ounce.

Good hunting!

G.

Morning All.

FTSE100 firmly higher by midday with Next pace-setting

USD ADP Non-Farm Employment Change 130K 151K 145K

USD Core CPI m/m 0.1% 0.2% 0.1%

USD CPI m/m 0.2% 0.2% 0.1%

FTSE100 pared gains in the afternoon session to close flat

Fed maintains strong stimulus as U.S. growth stumbles

WASHINGTON | Wed Oct 30, 2013 7:23pm GMT
(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve extended its support for a slowing U.S. economy on Wednesday, sounding a bit less optimistic about growth and saying it will keep buying $85 billion in bonds per month for the time being.

In announcing the widely expected decision, Fed officials nodded to weaker economic prospects due in part to a fiscal fight in Washington that shuttered much of the government for 16 days earlier this month.