Summers withdrawal from Fed race lifts markets

Global markets took cheer after a key player pulled out of the race to head America's central bank, lifting hopes that the US will keep the printing presses rolling.

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers withdrew from the race to succeed Ben Bernanke as head of the US Federal Reserve - lifting the FTSE 100 Index 39.1 points to 6622.9 while the pound climbed to an eight-month high of US$1.59 as the greenback fell.