Markets: FTSE 100 bounces back on oil merger rumours

The FTSE 100 was back on the rise yesterday, climbing 1.3% on rumours that Royal Dutch Shell and BP are to merge.

BP was up 4.7% on the news, and Shell added 4.1%. Other energy stocks were also in demand. Tullow Oil was the day's top performer with a 4% rise, and BG Group gained 3.4%.

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In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each rose 0.6% to 17,879 and 2,066 respectively. The Nasdaq Composite was also up 0.6% at 4,755.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 0.3% to 17,720, and the broader Topix gained 0.1% to 1,429. And in China, the Shanghai Composite was 0.6% higher at 2,779 and the CSI 300 gained 1.5% to 2,967.

Brent spot was trading at $71.02 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $67.50. Spot gold was trading at $1,206 an ounce, silver was at $16.48 and platinum was at $1,219.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5625 and against the euro at 1.2668. The dollar was trading at 0.8107 against the euro and 119.35 against the Japanese yen.

And today, the government says it is to pay back all of its debt from WWI at a cost of £1.9bn. The war bond, which pays a coupon of 3.5%, will be redeemed in March. The government says it plans to redeem all of its outstanding undated gilts "when we deem it value for money to do so".

David Stevenson, former MoneyWeek writer and director of The Fleet Street Letter, believessilver could be about to start a record climb. Click here(capital at risk)to read about the three irresistible forces David believes could push the price of silver through the roof.

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