Markets: FTSE 100 lower as commodities fall

  • FTSE 100 down 0.4% to 6,352
  • Gold down 0.56% to 1,170.72
  • £/$ – 1.5465

The FTSE 100 fell a further 0.4% to 6,352 yesterday as commodity stocks dragged the index down.

Glencore was the day’s biggest faller, down 7.8%, while BHP Billiton lost 6% and Anglo American was 3.5% lower.

In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 rose two points to 4,704, and the German Xetra Dax was 0.6% higher at 10,164.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 17,230, the S&P 500 was flat at 2,033, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4% to 4,905.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% to 18,207, and the broader Topix index added 0.3% to 1,499. And in China, the CSI 300 rose 1.2% to 3,577, and the Shanghai Composite gained 1.1% to 3,425.

Brent spot was trading at $48.90 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $46.30. Spot gold was trading at $1,174 an ounce, silver was at $15.95 and platinum was at $1011.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5490 and against the euro at 1.3653. The dollar was trading at 0.8814 against the euro and 119.66 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, hotel and catering group Whitbread reported a rise in profits for the first half of the year. Pre-tax profits rose by 5.4% to £254.9m in the six months to 27 August. Revenue rose by 11.3% to £1.43bn.


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