- FTSE 100 up 1.7% to 6,825
- Gold down 1.2% to $1,185.89
- £/$ – 1.5824
The FTSE 100 saw a big rise yesterday as investors grew confident of a deal on Greece. The index climbed 1.7% to close at 6,825.
Severn Trent was the day’s highest climber, up 5.9% on takeover speculation. International Consolidated Airlines added 4.2%, and cruise operator Carnival was 3.8% higher.
In Europe’s markets yesterday, the Paris CAC 40 rose 3.8% to 4,815998 and the German Xetra Dax was 3.8% higher at 11,460.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to 18,119, the S&P 500 added 0.6% to 2,122, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.7% higher at 5,153.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.9% to 20,809, and the broader Topix index was 1.7% higher at 1,679. In China, the CSI 300 added 3.2% to 4,786, and the Shanghai Composite rose 2.2% to 4,576.
Brent spot was trading at $63.50 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $60.39. Spot gold was trading at $1,186 an ounce, silver was at $16.09, and platinum was at $1,071.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5797 and against the euro at 1.4015. The dollar was trading at 0.8872 against the euro and 123.63 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, bookmaker Ladbrokes says it is in talks with rival Gala Coral about a possible merger. Earlier this year Ladbrokes reported a fall in profits for 2014, from £68m to £38m