- FTSE 100 down 2.4% to 6,388
- Gold down 0.17% to $1,228.70/oz
- £/$ – 1.5234
The FTSE 100 took a serious hit yesterday as the price of copper slid by over 6%, taking miners with it. The index fell 2.4% to close at 6,388.
Glencore was the biggest faller of the day with a 9.3% slump. Anglo American fell 9%, and BHP Billiton was 6.1% lower.
In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 fell 57 points to 4,233, and the German Xetra Dax lost 124 points to 9,817.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1% to 17,427, the S&P 500 lost 0.6% to 2,011, and the Nasdaq Composite also was 0.5% lower at 4,639.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.9% to 17,108, and the broader Topix index gained 1.4% to 1,376. And in China, the Shanghai Composite rose 3.5% to 3,336, and the CSI 300 was 2.9% higher at 3,604.
Brent spot was trading at $47.60 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $47.86. Spot gold was trading at $1,229 an ounce, silver was at $16.78 and platinum was at $1,225.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5205 and against the euro at 1.2933. The dollar was trading at 0.8505 against the euro and 117.62 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, Argos reported disappointing sales for the last quarter, according to parent group Home Retail. Like-for-like sales rose by just 0.1% in the 18 weeks to 3 January. Total sales rose by 0.8% to £1.8bn. Parent Group Home Retail fell by 5% in today’s early trading.
David Stevenson, former MoneyWeek writer and director of The Fleet Street Letter, believes silver could be about to start a record climb. Click here (capital at risk) to read about the three irresistible forces David believes could push the price of silver through the roof.