Markets: FTSE 100 hits a new record high

• FTSE 100 up 0.3% to 7,096
• Gold up 0.82% to $1,202.59/oz
• £/$ - 1.4842

Retailers were among the top performers. Sports Direct was the day's highest climber with a 3.8% rise, while Sainsbury's added 3.5%, Next rose and Wm Morrison was 2.3% higher.

In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.7% to 5,254.35, and the German Xetra Dax added four points to 12,231.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% to 18,112, the S&P 500 added 0.5% to 2,106, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.7% higher at 5,011.

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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.1% to 19,885, and the broader Topix index rose 0.7% to 1,599. And in China, the Shanghai Composite rose 2.7% to 4,194, and the CSI 300 added 3% to 4,513.

Brent spot was trading at $62.74 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $56.17. Spot gold was trading at $1,206 an ounce, silver was at $16.40 and platinum was at $1,164.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4837 and against the euro at 1.3954. The dollar was trading at 0.9405 against the euro and 119.34 against the Japanese yen.

And today, WH Smith reported a rise in half-yearly profits, despite flat sales. Profits for the six months to 28 February rose by 4% to £72m, compared with £69m in the same period last year. Sales in its high street shops fell by 5%, but those in its travel shops at airports and motorway service stations rose by 7%.