- FTSE 100 up 0.2% to 6,828
- Gold up 0.26% to $1,222.15/oz
- £/$ - 1.5384
Greek drinks bottler Coca Cola HBC was the day's highest climber, up 6.2%. Other top performers included safety testing firm Intertek, which added 4.9%, and pharmaceuticals company Shire, which gained 4.6%.
In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 rose 1% to 4,679, and the German Xetra Dax added 1.6% 10,919.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% to 17,972, the S&P 500 was 1% higher at 2,088, and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.2% to 4,857.
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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.4% to 17,913, and the broader Topix index was unchanged at 1,449. And in China, the Shanghai Composite rose 1% to 3,203, and the CSI 300 added 0.8% to 3,469.
Brent spot was trading at $60.10 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $51.96. Spot gold was trading at $1,227 an ounce, silver was at $16.88 and platinum was at $1,200.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5388 and against the euro at 1.3461. The dollar was trading at 0.8747 against the euro and 118.90 against the Japanese yen.
And today, Rolls Royce reported a fall in profits for the year, blaming the fall in the oil price and reduced demand in Europe and China. Pre-tax profits for 2014 fell by 8% to £1.6bn. The company also warned on profits for 2015, saying they would be below expectations at between £1.4bn and £1.55bn.
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.
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Landlords ordered to make rental properties more energy efficient by 2030The government has said rental properties must have a minimum EPC rating of C by 2030. We explain how much it will cost landlords to upgrade their buy-to-let portfolio
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Primark owner Associated British Foods is an overlooked gem going cheap — should you buy shares?Associated British Foods, the owner of Primark, is a family-owned business, which means it is passed over by the increasingly popular passive investment funds. That spells opportunity for private investors, says Jamie Ward.
