Markets: FTSE 100 hits a four-month high

• FTSE 100 up 1% to 6,796
• Gold up 0.7% to $1,302.13/oz
• £/$ - 1.5010

FTSE 100

Financial stocks were among the biggest climbers, with Schroders adding 4.2%, RSA Insurance up 3.3% and Aberdeen Asset Management 3.2% higher.

In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 gained 68 points to 4,552, and the German Xetra Dax rose 136 points to 10,435.

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In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each gained 1.5% to 17,813 and 2,063 respectively, and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.8% to 4,750.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.1% to 17,511, and the broader Topix index gained 1% to 1,403. And in China, the Shanghai Composite added 0.3% to 3,351, and the CSI 300 rose 0.1% to 3,571.

Brent spot was trading at $49.68 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $47.31. Spot gold was trading at $1,295 an ounce, silver was at $18.20 and platinum was at $1,272.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5003 and against the euro at 1.3251. The dollar was trading at 0.8832 against the euro and 118.23 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, car production reached its highest since 2007 last year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. 1.2 million cars were made, up 1.2% on the previous year.

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.