Markets: FTSE 100 ends a positive week on a high

FTSE 100 up 1.1% to 6,577
Gold up 1.45% to $1,341.35/oz
£/$ 1.3311

Housebuilders were again among the top performers. Persimmon led the sector up with a 6.7% gain, while Taylor Wimpey added 5.3% and Berkeley Group was 5.2% higher.

In the US yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 17,949, the S&P 500 added 0.2% to 2,102, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.4% higher at 4,862.

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Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 and the broader Topix index each rose 0.6% to 15,775 d 1,261 respectively. And in China, the CSI 300 gained 1.6% to 3,204 and the Shanghai Composite added 1.9% to 2,988.

Brent spot was trading at $50.41 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $49.05. Spot gold was trading at $1,350 an ounce, silver was at $20.15 and platinum was at $1,055.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.3279 and against the euro at 1.1936. The dollar was trading at 0.8988 against the euro and 102.72 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, the proportion of the country's energy demands met by solar power hit an all-time high on 5 June, at 23.9%, according to the Solar Trade Association. The UK now has almost 12 gigawatts of solar panels in operation.

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