Markets: miners lift FTSE 100

• FTSE 100 up 0.2% to 7,075
• Gold down 0.51% to $1,192.76/oz
• £/$ - 1.4782

Anglo American was led the sector up with a 4.1% gain. BHP Billiton added 3.1% and Antofagasta, Glencore and Rio Tinto rose between 2.9% and 2.8%. The day's top performer was oil services firm Weir Group, which rose 5.1%.

In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 fell 0.7% to 5,518.06, and the German Xetra Dax lost 0.9% to 12,227.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 18,036, the S&P 500 added 0.2% to 2,095, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.2% lower at 4,977.

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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2% to 19,869, and the broader Topix index fell 0.1% to 1,588. And in China, the Shanghai Composite slid 1.2% to 4,084, and the CSI 300 lost 1.3% to 4,380.

Brent spot was trading at $59.53 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $54.09. Spot gold was trading at $1,192 an ounce, silver was at $16.11 and platinum was at $1,149.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4732 and against the euro at 1.3882. The dollar was trading at 0.9422 against the euro and 119.57 against the Japanese yen.

And today, luxury goods maker Burberry reported a 9% rise in sales in the last six months. Revenue rose to £1.06bn in the six months to the end of March, with strong performances in the US and Europe countering weaker sales in Asia.