Markets: energy stocks lift FTSE 100

The FTSE 100 finished in positive territory after energy stocks tracked the price of oil up. The index closed up 0.5% at 6,782.

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  • FTSE 100 up 0.5% to 6,782
  • Gold down 0.73% to $1,274.46/oz
  • £/$ - 1.5039

Tullow Oil was the day's top performer with a 9.3% rise. BG Group added 5.3%m, while Royal Dutch Shell and BP each gained 3.1% .

In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.5% to 4,637, and the German Xetra Dax rose 1.3% to 10,694

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.1% to 17,361, the S&P 500 gained 1.3% to 2,020, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.9% higher at 4,676.

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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.3% to 17,335, and the broader Topix index lost 1.2% to 1,392. And in China, the Shanghai Composite rose 2.5% to 3,204, and the CSI 300 was 2.5% higher at 3,437

Brent spot was trading at $55.41 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $50.00. Spot gold was trading at $1,284 an ounce, silver was at $17.52 and platinum was at $1,235.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5033 and against the euro at 1.3251. The dollar was trading at 0.8815 against the euro and 117.26 against the Japanese yen.

And today, BP announced a 10% fall in full year profits to $12.1bn, after writing down $3.6bn of assets. Fourth quarter profits fell less than analysts had forecast, however after Russian operator Rosneft made more money than expected. BP has a 20% stake in Rosneft.

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