Investors were also cheered by falling oil prices and lower Covid cases in China, as well as hopes that the Ukraine-Russia negotiations will bear fruit.

Today is a big day, since we will get the latest FOMC policy decision. Investors will be assessing every word to know if the Fed is hawkish about future rate hikes. It is widely expected to raise rates by 0.25% today.

In London, financial and mining stocks are the best performers, as metal prices rose. Meanwhile, Avast dropped 8.4% after the announcement that its purchase by US cybersecurity firm NortonLifeLock was going to be investigated by Britain's anti-trust regulator, which fears the deal could harm competition.

Things to read today:

Hedge funds make retreat from US stocks after big swings hurt returns (Financial Times)

Don’t Count on China to Mediate the War in Ukraine (Wall Street Journal)

Zelenskiy Says Russia Positions ‘More Realistic’ (Bloomberg)