Markets: FTSE 100 ends the week on a high

ECB money-printing and positive economic data pushed markets to more gains on Friday. The FTSE 100 closed up 0.5% at 6,832, its highest since September last year.

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  • FTSE 100 up 0.5% to 6,832
  • Gold down 0.63% to $1,294.10/oz
  • £/$ - 1.4989

Consumer goods were among the bestperformers. Associated British Foods took the top spot with a 3.2% rise, while Reckitt Benckiser added 3% and Unilever was 2.5% higher.

In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 gained 88 points to 4,640, and the German Xetra Dax rose 214 points to 10,649.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% to 17,672, the S&P 500 lost 0.6% to 2,051, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to 4,757.

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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% to 17,468, and the broader Topix index slipped 0.1% to 1,402. And in China, the Shanghai Composite gained 0.9% to 3,383, and the CSI 300 rose 1% to 3,607.

Brent spot was trading at $48.25 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $45.13. Spot gold was trading at $1,285 an ounce, silver was at $18.02 and platinum was at $1,251.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5007 and against the euro at 1.3354. The dollar was trading at 0.8898 against the euro and 118.31 against the Japanese yen.

And today, Irish airline Aer Lingus says it is considering a takeover offer from International Consolidated Airlines, owner of British Airways and Iberia. The offer values the company at €1.35bn. The Aer Lingus board has already rejected two previous offers.

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