- FTSE 100 up 0.9% to 6,152
- Gold down 0.54% to $1,232.07/oz
- £/$ – 1.3952
The FTSE 100 was back on the rise yesterday, climbing 0.9% to close at 6,152.
Financial stocks were among the best performers. Direct Line Insurance added 5.4%, while Legal & General and Worldpay each gained 4.1.
London Stock Exchange was the highest climber of the day with a 7% rise, boosted by news of a possible merger with Deutsche Börse.
In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 rose 1.2% to 4,406, and the German Xetra Dax added 2.3% to 9,717.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.1% to 16,865, the S&P 500 added 2.4% to 1,978, and the Nasdaq Composite was 2.9% higher at 4,689.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 4.1% to 16,746, and the broader Topix index gained 3.8% to 1,349. And in China, the CSI 300 added 4.1% to 3,051, and the Shanghai Composite was 4.3% higher at 2,849.
Brent spot was trading at $36.71 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $33.94. Spot gold was trading at $1,229 an ounce, silver was at $14.84 and platinum was at $938.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.3939 and against the euro at 1.2832. The dollar was trading at 0.9205 against the euro and 114.35 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK today, ITV reported a big rise in profits for the year. Pre-tax profits for 2015 rose by 18% to £843m. Revenue rose by 15% to £2.97bn.