- FTSE 100 down 0.4% to 5,779
- Gold flat 1,088.90/oz
- £/$ – 1.4243
The FTSE 100 continued to fall yesterday, slipping 0.4% to close at 5,779.
Sports Direct was the biggest faller, down 4.7%. Irish conglomerate DCC lost 2.7%, and goldminer Fresnillo was 2.4% lower.
In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 fell 0.5% to 4,189, and the German Xetra Dax lost 0.2% to 9,521.
In the US, markets were closed for a public holiday.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% to 17,048, and the broader Topix index was 0.2% higher at 1,390. And in China, the CSI 300 added 3% to 3,223, and the Shanghai Composite gained 3.2% to 3,007.
Brent spot was trading at $29.48 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $29.75. Spot gold was trading at $1,094 an ounce, silver was at $14.14 and platinum was at $832.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4294 and against the euro at 1.3147. The dollar was trading at 0.9197 against the euro and 117.87 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, Unilever reported a rise in sales last year, but a fall in profits. Sales grew by 4.1% in 2015, and were particularly strong in emerging markets, which registered growth of 7.1%. Pre-tax profits fell by 8%, however, to £5.5bn.