Markets: housebuilders boost the FTSE 100

• FTSE 100 up 0.3% to 6,167
• Gold up 0.38% to $1,278.95/oz
• £/$ 1.4463

FTSE 100

Housebuilders were among the day's best performers. Taylor Wimpey led the sector up with a 4.7% rise, while Berkeley Group added 2.5% and Barratt Developments rose 2.4%. Industrial equipment hire firm Ashtead was the highest climber, up 5.8%.

In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 slipped 0.3% to 4,297 and the German Xetra Dax fell 0.6% to 9,890.

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In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1% to 17,529, the S&P 500 lost 0.9% to 2,047, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.3% lower at 4,715.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1% to 16,644 and the broader Topix index rose 0.2% to 1,339. And in China, the CSI 300 fell 0.6% to 3,068 and the Shanghai Composite lost 1.3% to 2,807.

Brent spot was trading at $49.28 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $48.28. Spot gold was trading at $1,272 an ounce, silver was at $17.02 and platinum was at $1,041.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4438 and against the euro at 1.2818. The dollar was trading at 0.8877 against the euro and 109.52 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, Burberry reported a fall in annual profits, as demand from China slows. Pre-tax profits for the year to 31 March fell by 6.5% to £415.6m, down from £444.6m the previous year. The company hopes to make £100m in cost savings by 2019.