- FTSE 100 down 0.3% to 5,950
- Gold down 1.03% to $1,278.43/oz
- £/$ – 1.4203
The FTSE staged a late recovery after early big losses yesterday, but still finished in negative territory. The index fell 0.3% to close at 5,950.
Industrial equipment rental group Ashtead was the day’s biggest faller, down 3.8%, while Mediclinic international lost 3.7% and Severn Trent was 3.1% lower.
In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 fell 0.4% to 4,153 and the German Xetra Dax slipped 0.6% to 9,550.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 17,733, the S&P 500 added 0.3% to 2,077, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.2% lower at 4,844.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.1% to 15,599 and the broader Topix index gained 0.8% to 1,250. And in China, the CSI 300 added 0.5% to 3,110 and the Shanghai Composite was 0.4% higher at 2,885.
Brent spot was trading at $47.81 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $46.63. Spot gold was trading at $1,285 an ounce, silver was at $17.34 and platinum was at $978.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4270 and against the euro at 1.2686. The dollar was trading at 0.8889 against the euro and 104.22 against the Japanese yen.
And today, retailer JD Sports reported an “excellent” set of first-half results as the Euro 2016 tournament boosted sales. Pre-tax profits rose 45% to £131.6m, with revenue up 20% to £1.8bn.