- FTSE 100 up 2.3% to 7,046
- Gold up 0.33% to $1,188.38/oz
- £/$ – 1.5455
The FTSE 100 bounced back after the general election, climbing 2.3% to close at 7,046.
Government contractors were among the top performers. Babcock International was the highest climber with a 9.4% rise, while Capita added 6.7%.
In Europe’s markets yesterday, the Paris CAC 40 added 2.3% to 5,090, and the German Xetra Dax rose 2.7% to 11,709.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.5% to 18,191, the S&P 500 added 1.4% to 2,116, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.2% higher at 5,003.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.3% to 19,620, and the broader Topix index added 0.7% to 1,598. And in China, the Shanghai Composite gained 3% to 4,333, and the CSI 300 rose 2.9% to 4,690.
Brent spot was trading at $65.53 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $59.45. Spot gold was trading at $1,185 an ounce, silver was at $16.38, and platinum was at $1,135.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5424 and against the euro at 1.3819. The dollar was trading at 0.8959 against the euro and 119.96 against the Japanese yen.
And today, London-listed precious metals miner Lonmin – the world’s third biggest platinum miner – says it is to cut 3,500 jobs after reporting a $77m loss for the first half of the year.