Markets: energy stocks weigh on the FTSE 100

  • FTSE 100 down 0.2% to 6,223
  • Gold down 1.41% to 1,071.54/oz
  • £/$ – 1.5055

The FTSE 100 continued to fall yesterday as energy stocks tracked the price of oil lower. The index closed down 0.2% at 6,223.

Royal Dutch Shell was the day’s biggest faller, down 4.7%. BG Group fell 4.1% and BP was 3.6% lower.

In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.9% to 4,756, and the German Xetra Dax added 1.2% to 10,886.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each fell 0.7% to 17,730 and 2,077 respectively, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.8% lower at 5,101.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 and the broader Topix index each lost 1% to 19,492 and 1,568 respectively. And in China, the CSI 300 slid 1.8% to 3,623, and the Shanghai Composite was 1.9% lower at 3,470.

Brent spot was trading at $41.06 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $37.84. Spot gold was trading at $1,074 an ounce, silver was at $14.26 and platinum was at $859.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5031 and against the euro at 1.3833. The dollar was trading at 0.9203 against the euro and 123.05 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, house prices fell by 0.2% in November, according to the latest figures from the Halifax. Annual growth slipped form 9.7% in October to 9% in November, with the average price of a house now standing at £204,552.


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