• FTSE 100 up 0.5% to 6,706
• Gold down 0.51% to $1,217.06/oz
• GBP/USD – 1.6304
In the forex markets this morning, the pound was trading against the greenback at 1.6307 and against the euro at 1.2821. The dollar was trading at 0.7862 against the euro and 109.31 against the Japanese yen.
The FTSE 100 stopped its decline yesterday, adding 0.5% to close at 6,706.
The top performers were miners. BHP Billiton was the day’s highest climber, climbing 3.2%. Rio Tinto added 2.4%, and Anglo American was 2.3% higher.
In the UK, Hammerson, the country’s third-largest real estate investment trust, says it is to raise £400m in share placing to allow it to expand. The 71 million new shares will represent 10% of its issued share capital.
Elsewhere in Europe, the Paris CAC 40 rose 54 points to 4,413, and the German Xetra Dax added 66 points to 9,661.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9% to 17,210, the S&P 500 added0.8% to 1,998, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1% higher at 4,555.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.3% to 16,374, and the broader Topix was 1.5% higher at 1,346. And in China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.1% to 2,345, and the CSI 300 slipped 0.2% to 2,436.
Brent spot was trading at $96.70 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $92.67. Spot gold was trading at $1,208 an ounce, silver was at $17.39 and platinum was at $1,299.
