Markets: FTSE 100 slips back

• FTSE 100 down 0.4% to 6,721
• Gold down 0.32% to $1,335.75/oz
• £/$ 1.3164

FTSE 100

Lloyds Banking Group was the day's biggest faller, down 5.8% after announcing they were to close 200 branches and lose another 3,000 staff. Standard Chertered lost 3.9%, and Prudential was 2.4% lower.

The FTSE 250 fell 0.1% to 17,252, and the FTSE All-Share index lost 0.3% to 3,651.

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

In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 fell 0.6% to 4,420 and the German Xetra Dax was 0.4% lower at 10,274.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1% to 18,456, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 2,170, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.3% higher at 5,154.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.6% to 16.569 and the broader Topix index rose 1.2% to 1,322. And in China, the CSI 300 and the Shanghai Composite each fell 0.5% to 3,203 and 2,979 respectively.

Brent spot was trading at $42.34 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $40.88. Spot gold was trading at $1,333 an ounce, silver was at $20.04 and platinum was at $1,134.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.3175 and against the euro at 1.1881. The dollar was trading at 0.9017 against the euro and 103.61 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, Barclays reported a slide in first half profits, as new chief executive Jes Staley concentrates on "closing Barclays' non-core [businesses] as fast as possible". Pre-tax profit fell by 21% to £2bn. Non-core businesses made a pre-tax loss of £1.9bn.