Markets: resource stocks lift FTSE 100

published 2 October 2015

FTSE 100 up 0.2% to 6,072
Gold down 0.14% to $1,113.56
£/$ - 1.5131

Resource stocks were among the top performers. BP rose 2.5%, while Royal Dutch Shell added 2.4%. Among miners, BHP Billiton gained 2.4% and Fresnillo was 2% higher. The day's highest climber was the London Stock Exchange Group, which rose 3.6%.

In Europe's markets yesterday, the Paris CAC 40 gained 2.6% to 4,455, and the German Xetra Dax was 2.2% higher at 9,660.

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In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1% to 16,272, the S&P 500 added 0.2% to 1,923, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2% to 4,627.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose three points to 17,725, and the broader Topix was 0.2% higher at 1,444. China's markets remained closed for a public holiday.

Brent spot was trading at $48.37 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $45.63. Spot gold was trading at $1,110 an ounce, silver was at $14.47 and platinum was at $896.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5143 and against the euro at 1.3564. The dollar was trading at 0.8957 against the euro and 120.10 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, bus and train operator FirstGroup says it is trading "in line with expectations" in the first half of the year. Revenue at its UK Rail operations rose by 7% as passenger numbers increased, while its UK Bus division saw revenues up 2%. At its Greyhound bus division in the US, however, revenue fell by 3.5%.