Markets: FTSE 100 edges higher

• FTSE 100 up 0.2% to 6,832
• Gold down 0.6% to $1,284.49/oz
• £/$ - 1.5139

Brewer SAB Miller took the top spot, climbing 4.6%. Miner Anglo American, government contractor Capita and retailer Dixons Carphone all added 2.3%.

In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 slipped 34 points to 4,610, and the German Xetra Dax added 82 points to 10,710.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1% to 17,191, the S&P 500 lost 1.4% to 2,002, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.9% to 4,638.

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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 and the broader Topix index each lost 1.1% to 17,606 and 1,413 respectively. And in China, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.3% to 3,262, and the CSI 300 was 1.2% lower at 3,481.

Brent spot was trading at $48.59 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $44.26. Spot gold was trading at $1,281 an ounce, silver was at $17.77 and platinum was at $1,247.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5125 and against the euro at 1.3392. The dollar was trading at 0.8854 against the euro and 117.76 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, the rate of growth in house prices is continuing to slow, according to the latest figures from the Nationwide. Prices rose by 0.3% in January; over the year, prices rose by 6.8%, down from 7.2% in December. The average price of a home now stands at £188,446.

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.