- FTSE 100 down 0.4% to 6,136
- Gold up 1.47% to $1,240.50/oz
- £/$ – 1.4056
The FTSE 100 fell back yesterday, slipping 0.4% to close at 6,136.
Housebuilders were among the day’s worst performers. Berkeley led the sector down with a 5.1% fall; Barratt lost 3.9%, Taylor Wimpey shed 3.8% and Persimmon was 2.9% lower. The day’s biggest faller was commodities giant Glencore, which lost 5.8%.
In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 fell 0.9% to 4,245, and the German Xetra Dax lost 1% to 9,530.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1% to 17,541, the S&P 500 lost 1.2% to 2,041, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.5% lower at 4,848.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% to 15,821, and the broader Topix index gained 1.2% to 1,287. And in China, the CSI 300 lost 0.7% to 3,185, and the Shanghai Composite was 0.8% lower at 2,984.
Brent spot was trading at $40.20 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $38.22. Spot gold was trading at $1,234 an ounce, silver was at $15.18 and platinum was at $955.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4125 and against the euro at 1.2415. The dollar was trading at 0.8789 against the euro and 108.98 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, Associated British Foods is to buy the remaining share of South African sugar company Illovo that it doesn’t already own. ABF says it will pay £262m for the 48.65% stake.