- FTSE 100 down 0.2% to 6,837
- Gold up 0.41% to $1,238.99/oz
- £/$ – 1.5215
The FTSE 100 slipped further yesterday, closing down 0.2% at 6,837.
Utilities were among the worst performers, with United Utilities, Severn Trent and National Grid down between 3.1% and 2.1%. Miners bounce back from Friday’s losses, however – Fresnillo topped the index with a 4.2% rise.
In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 fell 0.9% to 4,651, and the German Xetra Dax slid 1.7% to 10,846.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to 17,729, the S&P 500 lost 0.4% to 2,046, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.4% lower at 4,726.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3% to 17,652, and the broader Topix index rose 0.62% to 1,427. And in China, the Shanghai Composite gained 1.6% to 3,141, and the CSI 300 rose 1.8% to 3,406.
Brent spot was trading at $57.65 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $52.15. Spot gold was trading at $1,241 an ounce, silver was at $16.90 and platinum was at $1,216.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5242 and against the euro at 1.3468. The dollar was trading at 0.8836 against the euro and 118.73 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, housebuilder Bellway says it sold over 3,754 homes at average price of £219,000 in the six months to 31 January, a 15% increase on the same period last year. Forward sales rose by 25% to £975m.
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.