Stocks that gained the most included Shell, which rose 3.9% after posting the highest second-quarter profits in more than two years. Anglo American gained 3.8% on strong earnings for the first six months of 2021.

Stocks in the travel & leisure sector rose after the government announced that European and US travellers that are fully vaccinated would be exempted from quarantine. The IAG Group jumped 3.76%, Wizz Air 8.0% and EasyJet 4.64%. Overall, the leisure sector advanced 3.5%.

The market reaction to the Fed's monetary meeting was ambivalent as the U.S. central bank did not mention a timetable for tapering its monetary support. The main message was that tapering is not imminent and that it needs to see some more improvement in the economy before the Fed can review its monetary policy. However, it did say that it had made progress towards its goals of full employment and 2% average inflation…

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Beijing seeks to ease fears on Wall Street after tech crackdown (Financial Times) 

UK immigration: Global Britain or the hostile environment? (Financial Times)

$9 Billion for a Supermarket? Private Equity Has to Think Bigger (Bloomberg)