Markets: FTSE 100 fall for the fourth day in a row

• FTSE 100 down 0.4% to 6,680
• Gold up 0.29% to $1,185.58
• £/$ - 1.5833

FTSE 100

Property companies were the worst hit, with Land Securities and British Land each down 2.5%, and Hammerson down 2.2%. Housebuilders, on the other hand, were the best performers of the day, with Persimmon up 1.6% and Barratt 1.5% higher.

In Europe's markets yesterday, the Paris CAC 40 slid 1% to 4,790, and the German Xetra Dax fell 0.6% to 10,978.

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In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each rose 0.2% to 17,935 and 2,100 respectively, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.2% lower at 5,064.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.1% to 19,990, and the broader Topix index was 1% lower at 1,616. And in China, the Shanghai Composite fell 3.7% to 4,785, and the CSI 300 slid 4.1% to 4,930.

Brent spot was trading at $63.80 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $59.49. Spot gold was trading at $1,192 an ounce, silver was at $16.23, and platinum was at $1,086.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5889 and against the euro at 1.3964. The dollar was trading at 0.8789 against the euro and 122.80 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, Poundland reported a big rise in sales and profits for the year after an "exceptional period" of trading. Pre-tax profits rose by 68.3% to £36.2m, with sales up by 11.9% to £1.12bn.