- FTSE 100 down 0.4% to 6,937
- Gold down 0.55% to $1,202.51/oz
- £/$ – 1.4866
The FTSE 100 had a strong start yesterday, but fell back in the afternoon to close down 0.4% at 6,937.
BG Group was by far the best performer, shooting up 27% after Royal Dutch Shell announced a takeover bid worth 50% more than the prevailing share price. Shell was the worst performer, down 8.6%.
In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 fell 0.3% to 5,136, and the German Xetra Dax lost 0.7% to 12,035.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 17,902, the S&P 500 added 0.3% to 2,081, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.8% higher at 4,950.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.8% to 19,937, and the broader Topix index added 0.4% to 1,594. And in China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.9% o 3,957, and the CSI 300 lost 0.8% to 4,262.
Brent spot was trading at $56.43early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $51.19. Spot gold was trading at $1,195 an ounce, silver was at $16.25 and platinum was at $1,157.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4805 and against the euro at 1.3786. The dollar was trading at 0.9311 against the euro and 120.28 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, house prices rose by 0.4% in March, according to the latest figures from the Halifax. Year on year, prices rose by 8.1%.