- FTSE 100 up 0.4% to 6,226
- Gold down 1.69% to $1,268.12/oz
- £/$ – 1.4652
The FTSE edged higher yesterday, adding a further 0.4% to close at 6,226.
Mediclinic International was the day’s top performer, up 3.4%. And financial stocks were once again in demand, with Standard Life, Old Mutual, Barclays and RSA Insurance adding between 2.5% and 2.1%.
In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.6% to 4,367 and the German Xetra Dax added 0.5% to 10,015.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 17,829, the S&P 500 gained 0.3% to 2,088, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.1% higher at 4,843.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% to 16,065 and the broader Topix index lost 0.7% to 1,284. And in China, the CSI 300 and the Shanghai Composite each rose 0.9% to 3,133 and 2,905 respectively.
Brent spot was trading at $50.97 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $50.29. Spot gold was trading at $1,268 an ounce, silver was at $17.23 and platinum was at $981.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4667 and against the euro at 1.3018. The dollar was trading at 0.8875 against the euro and 104.40 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, retailer Debenhams reported a fall in sales in the last quarter. Like-for-like sales fell by 0.2% in the 15 week to 11 June, compared with a rise of 1.1% in the previous half-year. However, it said full-year profits were on course to meet forecasts.