Markets: late rally pushes FTSE higher

• FTSE 100 up 0.4% to 7,053
• Gold up 0.57% to $1,194.02/oz
• £/$ - 1.5057

Miners were the main driver. Anglo American and Antofagasta were the highest climber of the day, each marking a 4.7% rise, while Fresnillo added 3.5% and Rio Tinto gained 3.3%.

In European markets, the Paris CAC 40 fell 0.6% to 5,178, and the German Xetra Dax lost 1.2% to 11,723.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 18,058, the S&P 500 added 0.2% to 2,112, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.4% higher at 5,056.

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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.8% to 20,020, and the broader Topix index fell 0.4% to 1,618. And in China, the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.5% to 4,393, and the CSI 300 was 0.8% lower at 4,702.

Brent spot was trading at $65.08 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $57.80. Spot gold was trading at $1,195 an ounce, silver was at $15.84 and platinum was at $1,135.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5117 and against the euro at 1.3895. The dollar was trading at 0.9191 against the euro and 119.33 against the Japanese yen.

And today, Reckitt Benckiser reported a healthy rise in sales for the last quarter. Like-for-like sales rose by 5% to £2.2bn. The figures were boosted by strong growth in its health division, which saw sales rise by 13%, offsetting poor performance in consumer goods and home products.