- FTSE 100 up 0.8% to 7,052
- Gold down 0.7% to $1,195.88/oz
- £/$ - 1.4907
Miners were in demand on hopes that China's central bank would support the economy there. Anglo American led the sector up with a 2.7% rise, while Rio Tinto added 2.6% and BHP Billiton was 2.5% higher.
In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.9% to 5,187, and the German Xetra Dax added 1.7% to 11,891.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2% to 18,034 , the S&P 500 gained 0.9% to 2,100, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.53% higher at 4,994.
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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.4% to 19,909, and the broader Topix index added 1.7% to 1,608. And in China, the Shanghai Composite gained 1.8% to 4,293, and the CSI 300 was 2.2% higher at 4,619.
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Brent spot was trading at $62.86 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $55.88. Spot gold was trading at $1,195 an ounce, silver was at $15.94 and platinum was at $1,148.
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4877 and against the euro at 1.3939. The dollar was trading at 0.9369 against the euro and 119.57 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, broadcaster Sky TV reported a big rise in profits as demand picks up across Europe. Operating profit for the nine months to the end of March rose by 20% to £1bn, up from £854m for the same period the previous year.
