- FTSE 100 down 0.1% to 6,126
- Gold down 0.2% to 1,072.78/oz
- £/$ – 1.5181
The FTSE 100’s fall slowed yesterday. The index closed down just 0.1% at 6,126.
Government contractor Capita was the day’s biggest faller, down 3%, while Hikma Pharmaceuticals lost 2.5% and Pearson was 2.4% lower.
In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 fell 0.9% to 4,637, and the German Xetra Dax lost 0.8% to 10,592.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% to 17,492, the S&P 500 lost 0.8% to 2,047, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.5% lower at 5,022.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 a fell 1.3% to 19,046, and the broader Topix index lost 1% to 1,540. And in China, the CSI 300 slipped 0.4% to 3,623, and the Shanghai Composite was 0.5% lower at 3,455.
Brent spot was trading at $40.44 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $37.42. Spot gold was trading at $1,074 an ounce, silver was at $14.19 and platinum was at $859.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5163 and against the euro at 1.3810. The dollar was trading at 0.9107 against the euro and 121.78 against the Japanese yen.
And today, retailer Sports Direct reported a big rise in profits after selling a 9.1% stake in JD Sports. Profits in the six months to 25 October rose by 25% to £187.3m. Sales, however, rose just 0.1% to £1.4bn.