- FTSE 100 up 0.1% to 6,117
- Gold down 0.15% to $1,277.74/oz
- £/$ – 1.4485
The FTSE 100 halted its slide yesterday, adding 0.1% to close at 6,117.
BT Group was the day’s top performer, up 2.6% after reporting a rise in profits. Pearson added 2.3% and Next was 2.2% higher.
In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 slipped 0.1% to 4,319, and the German Xetra Dax gained 0.2% to 9,851.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 17,660, the S&P 500 lost one point to 2,050, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2% to 4,717.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% to 16,106, and the broader Topix index lost 0.1% to 1,298. And in China, the CSI 300 fell 2.6% to 3,130 and the Shanghai Composite slid 2.8% to 2,913.
Brent spot was trading at $44.66 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $43.84. Spot gold was trading at $1,279 an ounce, silver was at $17.29 and platinum was at $1,064.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4475 and against the euro at 1.2677. The dollar was trading at 0.8757 against the euro and 106.97 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, high street shops suffered a big fall in visitors in April. Footfall fell by 6.1%, the biggest fall since November 2008, according to accountants BDO. Clothes retailers saw the biggest fall, down 9.2%.