FTSE 100 closes higher after a poor start

• FTSE 100 up 0.3% to 6,973
• Gold up 0.44% to $1,221.06/oz
• £/$ - 1.5776

Private equity firm 3i was the day's top performer, climbing 3%. Packaging company Mondi was in demand again with a 2.8% rise, while drugmakers Shire and Hikma each added 2.4%.

In Europe's markets yesterday, the Paris CAC 40 rose 1.4% to 5,029, and the German Xetra Dax added 1.8% to 11,559.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each gained 1.1% to 18,252 and 2,121 respectively, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.4% higher at 5,050.

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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.8% to 19,732, and the broader Topix index added 1% to 1,607. And in China, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.6% to 4,308, and the CSI 300 lost 1.8% to 4,617.

Brent spot was trading at $66.44 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $59.54. Spot gold was trading at $1,221 an ounce, silver was at $17.36, and platinum was at $1,157.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5755 and against the euro at 1.3844. The dollar was trading at 0.8767 against the euro and 119.46 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, brewing giant SAB Miller is getting in on the craft beer craze buy buying London's Meantime Brewing Company for an undisclosed fee. Meantime, which was founded in 1999, grew sales by 58% in 2014.