Markets: FTSE 100 bounces back from early losses

• FTSE 100 up 0.2% to 6,353
• Gold down 0.12% to $1,232.49/oz
• £/$ 1.4278

FTSE 100

Commodity stocks were among the day's best performers. Anglo American led the sector up with a 2.4% rise, while BHP Billiton added 1.8% and Rio Tinto was 1.7% higher. BT was the day's highest climber, up 2.5%.

In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.3% to 4,506, and the German Xetra Dax gained 0.7% to 10,120.

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In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6% to 18,004, the S&P 500 rose 0.7% to 2,094, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.4% higher at 4,960.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 jumped 3.7% to 16,874, and the broader Topix index added 3.3% to 1,363. And in China, the CSI 300 gained 0.3% to 3,238, and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% to 3,042.

Brent spot was trading at $43.33 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $40.12. Spot gold was trading at $1,244 an ounce, silver was at $16.63 and platinum was at $985.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4314 and against the euro at 1.2633. The dollar was trading at 0.8825 against the euro and 108.96 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, Saga, provider of services including insurance and package holidays to the over 50s, reported a big rise in profits for the last year. Pre-tax profit in the year to 31 January rose by 54.8% to £176.2m, and the company is to increase its dividend by 75.6%.