Markets: FTSE 100 edges up further

• FTSE 100 up 0.2% to 6,279
• Gold up 0.04% to 1,070.73/oz
• £/$ - 1.5237

FTSE 100

Miners were among the best performers. Antofagasta topped the index with a 5.8% rise, while Glencore added 5% and Anglo American was 4.3% higher.

In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 fell 0.6% to 4,906, and the German Xetra Dax slipped 0.1% to 10,959.

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In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4% to 17,737, the S&P 500 added 1.6% to 2,083, and the Nasdaq Composite was one 1.8% higher at 5,075.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 1.1% to 19,859, and the broader Topix index rose 0.9% to 1,600. And in China, the CSI 300 gained 1.6% to 3,774 and the Shanghai Composite was 1.4% higher at 3,617.

Brent spot was trading at $44.46 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $40.84. Spot gold was trading at $1,076 an ounce, silver was at $14.24 and platinum was at $859.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5270 and against the euro at 1.4309. The dollar was trading at 0.9370 against the euro and 123.23 against the Japanese yen.

And today, Poundland reported a fall in profits, after buying rival 99p Stores and opening 55 new shops. Pre-tax profits in the six months to the end of September fell by 43% to £5.3m. Like-for-like sales fell by 2.8%, with total sales up 6.2% to £561.1m.