- FTSE 100 down 0.4% to 7,064
- Gold down 0.72% to $1,198.89/oz
- £/$ – 1.4676
The FTSE 100 slipped back from its latest record high yesterday, falling 0.4% to close at 7,064.
Resource stocks were among the main drags. BHP Billiton was the day’s biggest faller with a 3.3% slide. Antofagasta lost 2.5% and Anglo American was 2.3% lower.
In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.3% to 5,254.12, and the German Xetra Dax added fell 0.3% to 12,338.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each fell 0.5% to 17,977 and 2,092 respectively, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.2% lower at 4,988.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose three points to 19,908, and the broader Topix index gained 0.3% to 1,590. And in China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% to 4,135, and the CSI 300 added 0.4% to 4,438.
Brent spot was trading at $58.31 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $52.41. Spot gold was trading at $1,193 an ounce, silver was at $16.12 and platinum was at $1,148.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4645 and against the euro at 1.3889. The dollar was trading at 0.9483 against the euro and 119.80 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, retail sales rose by 4.7% year-on-year in Marc, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Like for like sales rose by 3.2%. The figures were boosted by the early Easter.