- FTSE 100 up 0.1% to 6,410
- Gold down 0.48% to $1,244.25/oz
- £/$ – 1.4332
The FTSE 100 closed at its highest of the year so far yesterday, rising 0.1% to 6,410.
Once again, commodity stocks were the top performers. Anglo American was the day’s highest climber, with a 5.3% rise, Rio Tinto added 3.9%, and BHP Billiton was 3.6% higher.
In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.6% to 4,591, and the German Xetra Dax gained 0.7% to 10,421.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 18,096, the S&P 500 added 0.1% to 2,102, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.2% higher at 4,948.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 2.7% to 17,363 and the broader Topix index rose 2% to 1,393. And in China, the CSI 300 lost 0.6% to 3,160, and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.7% to 2,952.
Brent spot was trading at $45.71 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $44.08. Spot gold was trading at $1,256 an ounce, silver was at $17.28 and platinum was at $1,024.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4346 and against the euro at 1.2704. The dollar was trading at 0.8855 against the euro and 109.68 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, TSB reported a rise in profits last year as mortgage lending increased. Statutory pre-tax profit rose by 53% to £53m, with lending up by 20% year on year.