UK stocks : FTSE 100 up 0.8 pct
Britain's blue-chip stock index rose on Tuesday, buoyed by some encouraging earnings reports in light trade ahead of what is expected to be a close U.S. presidential election result.
The FTSE 100 was up 45.84 points, or 0.8 percent, at 5,884.90 by the close, remaining within the tight 200-point range it has held since September.
The narrow trading range and thin volumes of recent weeks were both symptoms of the lack of conviction in the market, said Bill McNamara, technical analyst at Charles Stanley.
I understand the indecision, waiting for the election, but I'm not even convinced that once the elections are out of the way that investors are going to know what to do, he said, citing the failure to sell off markedly after a summer rally.
What that tells me is that while there might not be too many buyers up at these levels, there clearly aren't a lot of sellers around either, and the impression that I get is that people really are sitting on the sidelines.
Recent polls showed Democratic President Barack Obama edging his challenger, Republican Mitt Romney, in key swing states, with traders and investors wanting a clear winner to the close race by Wednesday morning.
Markets are less concerned about who wins and place more emphasis on their ability to deal with the so-called fiscal cliff, a series of tax hikes and spending cuts totalling $600 billion which will kick in if a compromise over the U.S. budget deficit is not negotiated before the end of year deadline.
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