Barclays soared 4.1%, after posting first-half profits that almost quadrupled thanks to rising investment banking fees in a context of economic recovery. In a positive sign for the travel sector;, Wizz Air announced that its  fiscal 1Q net profit beat consensus,  which led its share to jump  5.1%.

However, mining stocks are weighing on the index. However, Rio Tinto just announced it has reached record half-year profits, led by booming demand from China. The company is paying out record dividends of $9.1bn, or $5.61 a share.

Yesterday, the FTSE 100 ended 0.4% lower. Croda stood out, jumping 5.6% after unveiling very strong results. However, Moonpig dropped 8.4% after it reduced its sales growth forecast.

In other news, the UK government will cancel travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers from the EU and the US today. 

The Fed will release its monetary policy statement at 7:00 p.m. London time, followed by Jerome Powell’s speech. Economists expect the Fed funds rate to remain in a range of 0% to 0.25% and do not expect any specific communication on the reduction of the amount of asset purchases.