FTSE 100 held steady by Johnson Matthey Johnson Matthey stood at the top the FTSE 100 after recovering demand in the US car market helped annual numbers at the vehicle catalyst maker beat forecasts. Shares in the company that produces platinum and palladium for catalytic converters rose 7.6 per cent to £27.81, the biggest single gainer on the main index. The gains came after news of a smaller-than-forecast 9 per cent drop in underlying pre-tax annual profit of £389m. Stricter emissions laws in Europe are expected to help sales at the speciality chemicals company. The FTSE 100, however, was little changed at 6,421.65 ahead of monetary policy calls from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank. The UK central bank is not expected to add to its stimulus spending at midday, but there was an outside chance the ECB could seek to encourage lending by introducing charges for deposits to be left with it by financial institutions overnight. Its decision was due at 12.45pm. Support came from defensive stocks, offsetting losses among risker sectors. Fixed-line telecoms operator BT Group was 1.1 per cent higher at 297.3p. Chilean copper miner Antofagasta was 1 per cent softer at 932p.