Markets: FTSE 100 back down below 6,900

After a positive start, the FTSE 100 fell back below 6,900 yesterday, closing down 0.7% at 6,889.

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  • FTSE 100 down 0.7% to 6,889
  • Gold down 0.51% to $1,206.83/oz
  • £/$ - 1.5366

Medical equipment maker Smith & Nephew was the day's biggest faller, down 5.7%. Building supplies firm Travis Perkins lost 4%, and RSA Insurance was 3.3% lower.

In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 fell 1% to 4,869, and the German Xetra Dax lost 1.1% to 11,280.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each fell 0.5% to 18,203 and 2,107 respectively, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.6% lower at 4,979.

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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% to 18,703, and the broader Topix index lost 0.6% to 1,517. And in China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.5% to 3,279, and the CSI 300 added 0.7% to 3,530.

Brent spot was trading at $60.60 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $50.51. Spot gold was trading at $1,204 an ounce, silver was at $16.23 and platinum was at $1,181.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5354 and against the euro at 1.3788. The dollar was trading at 0.8980 against the euro and 119.68 against the Japanese yen.

And today, the UK government has sold its 40% stake in Eurostar for £757.1m. The buyer is a partnership between Canada's Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, a public body which manages pension plans for the province of Quebec, and private equity firm Hermes Infrastructure.

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