- FTSE 100 down 0.9% to 5,848
- Gold up 1.58% to $1,173.82/oz
- £/$ – 1.4532
The FTSE100 slipped back on Friday, falling 0.9% to close at 5,848.
Housebuilders were among the worst performers. Berkeley Group led the index down with a 5% fall, while Persimmon fell 3.4% and Taylor Wimpey lost 3.3%. Broadcasters Sky and ITV fell 3.4% and 3% respectively, and advertising agency WPP lost 3.1%.
In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 fell 0.7% to 4,200, and the German Xetra Dax slipped 1.1% to 9,286.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3% to 16,204, the S&P 500 added 0.8% to 1,380, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 3.3% to 4,363.
Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.1% to 17,004, and the broader Topix index lost 1.4% to 1,368. China’s stockmarkets were closed for a public holiday.
Brent spot was trading at $34.45 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $31.21. Spot gold was trading at $1,169 an ounce, silver was at $14.96 and platinum was at $908.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4489 and against the euro at 1.2995. The dollar was trading at 0.8969 against the euro and 117.13 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, consumers shrugged of global market jitters and post-Christmas hangovers and went on a spending spree last month. Consumer spending rose by 2.7% in January, according to the latest figures from Visa. Year on year, spending rose by 9.7%