Markets: financial stocks drive the FTSE 100 higher

FTSE 100 up 0.6% to 6,138
Gold up 0.77% to $1,273.45/oz
£/$ 1.4365

Bankers were in demand. Standard Chartered led the sector up with a 3.5% rise, while Lloyds added 2.3% and HSBC gained 1.7%. Tesco was the day's top performer, up 3.9%.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1% to 17,535, the S&P 500 lost 0.9% to 2,046, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.4% lower at 4,717.

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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.3% to 16,466 and the broader Topix index was 0.1% higher at 1,321. And in China, the CSI 300 added 0.7% to 3,095 and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.8% to 2,850.

Brent spot was trading at $48.57 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $46.89. Spot gold was trading at $1,282 an ounce, silver was at $17.29 and platinum was at $1,053.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4352 and against the euro at 1.2683. The dollar was trading at 0.8837 against the euro and 108.76 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, the Church of England made a return of 8.2% on its investments last year, well above the 2% target set by the Church Commissioners. Over the last 30 years, it has made an annual return of 9.7%, and its investments are now reckoned to be worth some £7bn.

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