Markets: FTSE 100 down for the third day in a row

published 11 February 2015

FTSE 100 down 0.1% to 6,829
Gold down 0.43% to $1,233.64/oz
£/$ - 1.5254

Miners were back among the worst performers. Fresnillo fell 4.1% and Randgold was 3.5% lower, while Rio Tinto, Antofagasta and BHP Billiton lost between 3.3% and 3.1%. Biggest faller of the day was Royal Mail, which slid 4.9%.

In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 rose 1% to 4,695, and the German Xetra Dax added 0.9% to 10,753.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% to 17,868, the S&P 500 gained 1.1% to 2,068, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.3% higher at 4,787.

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Japan's markets were closed for a public holiday. And in China, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.4% to 3,157, and the CSI 300 added 0.8% to 3,434.

Brent spot was trading at $56.58 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $50.26. Spot gold was trading at $1,238 an ounce, silver was at $17.01 and platinum was at $1,207.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5258 and against the euro at 1.3489. The dollar was trading at 0.8840 against the euro and 119.65 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, housebuilder Redrow reported record profits for the six months to 31 December. Pre-tax profit rose by 92% to £91.2m, with revenue up by 54% to £560.6m.

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