Markets: FTSE 100 adds to gains

FTSE 100 up 0.3% to 6,671

Gold down 0.2% to $1,186.35/oz

£/$ - 1.5641

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The FTSE 100 added to Friday's gains yesterday, climbing 0.3% to close at 6,671.

Chipmaker ARM Holdings was the top performer, up 2.4%. Precious metals miners were also in demand Fresnillo rose 2.2% and Randgold was 1.5% higher.

In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 rose 24 points to 4,226, and the German Xetra Dax added 54 points to 9,306.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each gained 0.1% to 17,647 and 2,041 respectively, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.4% to 4,671.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 2.2% to 17,344, and the broader Topix gained 2.1% to 1,394. And in China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.7% to 2,456, and the CSI 300 was 1% lower at 2,541.

Brent spot was trading at $78.99 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $75.56. Spot gold was trading at $1,198 an ounce, silver was at $16.30 and platinum was at $1,209.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5657 and against the euro at 1.2535. The dollar was trading at 0.8006 against the euro and 116.70 against the Japanese yen.

And today, EasyJet reported a 22% rise in profits in the last year. The airline made a pre-tax profit of £581m in the year to 30 September, up from £478m the year before. P{assenger numbers rose by 7% to 64.8 million.

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