Market jitters over the path to higher interest rates will be addressed later when the US Federal Reserve holds its latest meeting.
The central bank is expected to signal its plans for tightening monetary policy, starting with a first hike in interest rates in March.
London shares are sharply higher in advance of the meeting, despite Wall Street enduring another volatile session and Microsoft falling 3% following the release of quarterly results. The tech giant generated almost $52 billion (£38.5 billion) in revenues, driven by growth in its cloud computing operations.
