Markets: FTSE 100 halts its decline

• FTSE 100 up 0.3% to 6,297
• Gold down 0.3% to 1,086.32/oz
• £/$ - 1.5213

FTSE 100

Wealth manager St James's Place was the highest climber of the day, rising 2.5%. Theme park operator Merlin Entertainments was also up 2.5%, and Experian gained 2.3%. Sainsbury's was the day's biggest faller, down 7.1% after posting another disappointing set of figures.

In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.8% to 4,952, and the German Xetra Dax was 0.7% higher at 10,907.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each fell 0.3% to 17,702 and 2,075 respectively, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3% to 5,067.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained six points to 19,697, and the broader Topix index slipped 0.1% to 1,593. And in China, the CSI 300 fell 1% to 3,795, and the Shanghai Composite was 0.5% lower at 3,632.

Brent spot was trading at $45.78 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $43.01. Spot gold was trading at $1,087 an ounce, silver was at $14.39 and platinum was at $880.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5179 and against the euro at 1.4185. The dollar was trading at 0.9345 against the euro and 122.98 against the Japanese yen.

And today, Burberry saw sales rise in the third quarter, leading first-half profits to beat expectations. Pre-tax profit in the six months to the end of September rose by 3% to £152.9m analysts had been expecting in the region of £144m. Revenue was unchanged at £1.1bn.