- FTSE 100 up 0.4% to 6,209
- Gold up 2.75% to $1,244.20/oz
- £/$ – 1.4518
The FTSE 100 ended a disappointing week on a positive note on Friday, adding 0.4% to close at 6,209.
Miners were the main driving force. Fresnillo topped the index with a 7.5% rise, while Randgold Resources added 6.8% and Glencore gained 5.4%
In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 fell 1% to 4,421 and the German Xetra Dax lost 1% to 10,103.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2% to 17,807, the S&P 500 was fell 0.3% to 2,099, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.6% lower at 4,942.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.4% to 16,580 and the broader Topix lost 0.4% to 1,332. And in China, the CSI 300 fell 0.3% to 3,178 and the Shanghai Composite was 0.2% lower at 2,934.
Brent spot was trading at $50.18 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $49.15. Spot gold was trading at $1,241 an ounce, silver was at $16.38 and platinum was at $986.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4425 and against the euro at 1.2704. The dollar was trading at 0.8807 against the euro and 107.16 against the Japanese yen.
And in the latest shots in the war against excessive executive pay, the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, which represents pension funds worth £175bn, has urged its members to vote against the £70m pay deal for WPP chief Martin Sorrell at the company’s AGM.