Footsie set for a positive start
The FTSE 100 is set to open 38 points higher, a rare flash of optimism after a jittery session.
The lift comes despite the US Federal Reserve raising interest rates for the first time in three years, a quarter-point nudge that takes its key rate to a target range of 3.75% to 4%.
The move is the Fed's latest attempt to wrestle down American inflation that has stubbornly refused to behave.
Wall Street took the news badly on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.5% and the Dow shedding 1.2%.
Asian markets could not agree on a mood, as Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's Kospi crept higher while Hong Kong and Shanghai drifted lower.
Morningstar, the research firm, reckons the reaction was muted because the hike was widely flagged, though the Iran war keeps a floor under inflation.
Oil, meanwhile, edged up as supply worries linger around the Strait of Hormuz.
