Markets: miners lift FTSE 100

The FTSE 100 ended the week on a positive note on Friday, climbing 1.1% to close at 6,199.

Miners provided the main impetus as metals prices rose. Anglo American led the index up with a 11.3% rise, while Glencore added 10.8%, BHP Billiton gained 8.5% and Rio Tinto was .9% higher.

In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.9% to 4,456, and the German Xetra Dax added 0.7% to 9,824.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% to 17,006, the S&P 500 added 0.3% to 1,999, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.2% higher at 4,717.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% to 16,911, and the broader Topix index lost 1% to 1,361. And in China, the CSI 300 added 0.4% to 3,104, and the Shanghai Composite was 0.8% higher at 2,897.

Brent spot was trading at $39.26 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $36.53. Spot gold was trading at $1,266 an ounce, silver was at $15.59 and platinum was at $997.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4151 and against the euro at 1.2928. The dollar was trading at 0.9135 against the euro and 113.59 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, energy supplier Npower says it plans to cut 2,500 jobs, more than a fifth of its workforce. In 2015, 300,000 customers left the company, which is owned by German firm RWE, and profits fell by 60%.


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