FTSE 100 grabs the yellow Jersey for a change

Perhaps surprisingly the FTSE 100 was the best performing major European stock market index yesterday. Now, before you all fall off your chair with astonishment, we are not talking about much of a rise here. The index closed a mere 5 points higher, at 7,646. That said, it was well above earlier session lows and that close was set against modest losses for the CAC 40 and the DAX. The FTSE is set to open slightly higher right now, but the price action today could be determined by what the UK Budget has to throw at it later on. The FTSE 100 will be front and centre in digesting any reaction across the markets, particularly as some pundits have been advocating measures to force flow back into UK stocks. I have covered all that here previously, so I will not repeat all the narrative this morning. The FTSE 100 is currently priced to reopen at around 7,658