Markets: FTSE 100 flat

• FTSE 100 down two points to 6,165
• Gold down 1.6% to $1,258.50/oz
• £/$ 1.4463

Banks were in demand, with RBS, Standard Life and Barclays taking the top three spots with gains of between 4.3% and 3.7%. At the other end of the table, miners struggled, with Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore down between 3.6% and 2.6%.

In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 gained 0.5% to 4,319 and the German Xetra Dax added 0.5% to 9,943.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell three points to 17,526, the S&P 500 was unchanged at 2,047, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.5% higher at 4,739.

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

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 added two points to 16,646 and the broader Topix index slipped 0.1% to 1,336. And in China, the CSI 300 fell 0.2% to 3,062 and the Shanghai Composite lost one point to 2,806.

Brent spot was trading at $47.86 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $47.27. Spot gold was trading at $1,255 an ounce, silver was at $16.66 and platinum was at $1,021.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4586 and against the euro at 1.2999. The dollar was trading at 0.8911 against the euro and 110.05 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, Mothercare reported its first profit for five years as its turnaround starts to bear fruit. The company made a pre-tax profit of £9.7m in the year to the end of March.