Markets: retail stocks lift FTSE100

• FTSE 100 up 0.6% to 6,542
• Gold down 0.2% to $1,230.75/oz
• £/$ - 1.5160

Morrisons was the sector's top performer, adding 4.5% after it announced it was to get a new CEO. Tesco and Sainsbury's each rose 3.6%, and Marks & Spencer was 3.3% higher.

In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 rose 62 points to 4,290, and the German Xetra Dax gained 160 points to 9,941.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% to 17,613, the S&P 500 lost 0.3% to 2,023, and the Nasdaq Composite also was 0.1% lower at 4,661.

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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 slid 1.7% to 16,795, and the broader Topix index lost 1.2% to 1,357. And in China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.4% to 3,222, and the CSI 300 was 0.3% lower at 3,502.

Brent spot was trading at $45.70 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $45.25. Spot gold was trading at $1,228 an ounce, silver was at $16.65 and platinum was at $1,228.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5195 and against the euro at 1.2888. The dollar was trading at 0.8481 against the euro and 116.80 against the Japanese yen.

And today, luxury goods maker Burberry announced a healthy rise in sales for the third quarter, driven by higher demand in Europe, the US and the Middle East. Sales rose by 14% to £604m. A fall in sales in Hong Kong, however, could hit full-year figures, the company said.

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