Markets: FTSE 100 ends the week on a high note

  • FTSE 100 up 0.4% to 6,696
  • Gold up 0.67% to $1,095.82
  • £/$ – 1.5622

The FTSE 100 ended the week on a high note on Friday, climbing a further 0.4% to close at 6,696.

Cruise operator Carnival was the day’s top performer, and BG Group was in demand despite a fall in earnings.

In Europe’s markets yesterday, the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.7% to 5,082, and the German Xetra Dax was 0.5% higher at 11,308.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 17,689, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% to 2,103, and the Nasdaq Composite was unchanged at 5,128.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.2% to 20,548, and the broader Topix index was flat at 1,659. And in China, the CSI 300 rose 0.3% to 3,829, and the Shanghai Composite fell 1.1% to 3,622.

Brent spot was trading at $51.50 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $46.61. Spot gold was trading at $1,094 an ounce, silver was at $14.70 and platinum was at $979.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5653 and against the euro at 1.4253. The dollar was trading at 0.9116 against the euro and 124.17 against the Japanese yen.

And today, HSBC announced a 10% rise in profits for the first half of the year. Pre-tax profits in the first six months of the year were $13.6bn, up from $12.3bn a year earlier. The bank also announced the sale of Brazil’s Banco Bradesco for $5.2bn.


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