Markets: FTSE 100 ends Friday virtually unchanged

• FTSE 100 down one point to 6,722
• Gold down 1.99% to $1,167.41/oz
• £/$ - 1.5665

FTSE 100

Energy stocks were once again among the worst performers. BG Group was the biggest faller of the day with an 8.8% slide, and Tullow Oil lost 8.4%.

In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 rose eight points to 4,390, and the German Xetra Dax gained six points to 9,980.

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In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat at 17,828, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% to 2,067, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.21% higher at 4,791.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 and the broader Topix each rose 0.8% to 17,590 and 1,421 respectively. And in China, the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1% to 1,412 and the CSI 300 gained 0.4% to 2,819.

Brent spot was trading at $68.48 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $64.39. Spot gold was trading at $1,166 an ounce, silver was at $15.38 and platinum was at $1,197.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5671 and against the euro at 1.2583. The dollar was trading at 0.8029 against the euro and 118.21 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, the government says it is going to spend £15bn on road-building schemes in England. The schemes include a tunnel under Stonehenge, and making the A1 north of Newcastle into a dual carriageway.

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