Heading into the final hour of trading we have seen a fairly quiet day ahead of this evening's latest US interest rate announcement.

After the sharp start to the week seen on Monday, shares in London have spent much of the day consolidating these gains ahead of tonight's announcement from the US Federal Reserve. The biggest gainer on the day was Cairn Energy after it said it had found the first signs of oil and gas in its new Greenland exploration - but other blue chip shares remained in a subdued range only registering changes of a couple of percent either way.

In a week somewhat thin on the ground for major economic news, this evening's latest statement from the US Federal Reserve is one that traders have been focussed on.  As usual, no change is expected to interest rates but many are hoping for a bit more clarity on what extra measure - if any - the central bank is going to take to manage continued recovery. For investors over here, Wednesday is of equal importance with the minutes from the most recent Bank of England meeting due for release.

The stubbornness of the inflation figures is the biggest problem facing policy makers here but sentiment has been kept positive after the release US housing data. Markets still seem well poised to continue their push upwards to fresh four month highs as the week goes on.