- FTSE 100 up 0.2% to 7,007
- Gold up 0.17% to $1,209.82/oz
- £/$ – 1.5536
The FTSE 100 edged higher yesterday, climbing a further 0.2% to close at 7,007.
Banks were among the highest climbers. Barclays rose 3.4%, while RBS added 1.8% and HSBC rose 1%. Vodafone was the day’s top performer, up 5.4%.
In Europe’s markets yesterday, the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.3% to 5,133, and the German Xetra Dax slipped five points to 11,848.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% to 18,285, the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to 2,125, and the Nasdaq Composite was one point higher at 5,071.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose six points to 20,202, and the broader Topix index added 0.2% to 1,646. And in China, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.9% to 4,529, and the CSI 300 added 1.8% to 4,840.
Brent spot was trading at $65.38 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $59.34. Spot gold was trading at $1,211 an ounce, silver was at $17.17, and platinum was at $1,157.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5575 and against the euro at 1.3969. The dollar was trading at 0.8969 against the euro and 120.97 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, Royal Mail reported a rise in profits in its first full year since being privatised. Adjusted operating profits before transformation costs rose by 6% to £740m in the year to 29 March. Revenue was virtually unchanged at £9.4bn.