Markets: FTSE 100 sees big gains after the Easter break

FTSE 100 up 1.9% to 6,961
Gold down 0.47% to $1,209.20/oz
£/$ - 1.4808

Commodity and energy stocks were the day's best performers. BG Group was the highest climber, rising 6.7%, while Royal Dutch Shell gained 3.9%. Among miners, Rio Tinto added 4%, and Glencore was 3.5% higher.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped five points to 17,875, the S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 2,076, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.1% lower at 4,910.

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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.8% to 19,789, and the broader Topix index added 0.6% to 1,588. And in China, the Shanghai Composite and the CSI 300 each rose 0.8% to 3,994 and 4,295 respectively.

Brent spot was trading at $58.35 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $52.96. Spot gold was trading at $1,211 an ounce, silver was at $16.89 and platinum was at $1,175.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4895 and against the euro at 1.3699. The dollar was trading at 0.9197 against the euro and 119.78 against the Japanese yen.

And today, Royal Dutch Shell says it is to buy BG Group for £47bn. BG shareholders will receive £3.83 plus 0.45 Shell B shares for each BG share they hold a 50% premium on Tuesday's market price.

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