- FTSE 100 down 0.8% to 6,804
- Gold down 0.41% to $1,172.00
- £/$ – 1.5270
The FTSE 100 ended a tough week on a low note on Friday, sliding a further 0.8% to close the day at 6,804.
Marks & Spencer was the day‘s biggest faller, down 3.2%, and Morrisons lost 2.6%. Tobacco stocks were also out of favour, with Imperial Tobacco down 2.6%, and British American Tobacco 2.3% lower.
In Europe’s markets yesterday, the Paris CAC 40 fell 1.3% to 4,920, and the German Xetra Dax fell 1.3% to 11,197.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 17,849, the S&P 500 lost 0.1% to 2,092, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.2% higher at 5,068.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped three points to 20,457, and the broader Topix index lost 0.3% to 1,661. And in China, the Shanghai Composite rose 2.4% to 5,141 and the CSI 300 gained 2.5% to 5,359.
Brent spot was trading at $62.89 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $58.66. Spot gold was trading at $1,174 an ounce, silver was at $16.12, and platinum was at $1,097.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5384 and against the euro at 1.3726. The dollar was trading at 0.8980 against the euro and 125.22 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is forecasting economic growth of 2.4% in 2015 and 2.5% in 2016, down slightly from its forecast in February of 2.7% and 2.8% respectively. Despite the slight revision, CBI director-general John Cridland expects to see “solid, steady and sustainable growth carrying through into next year”.