Markets: FTSE 100 inches higher

FTSE 100 up 0.1% to 6,724 Gold up 1.16% to $1,351.28/oz £/$ 1.3230

The FTSE 100 ended slightly higher on Friday, adding 0.1% to close at 6,724.

Financial stocks were among the top performers. Barclays led the index up with a 6.1% rise, despite reporting a slide in profits. Standard Life, Schroders and Legal & General, meanwhile, added between 3.7% and 2.6%

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The FTSE 250 rose 0.2% to 17,282, and the FTSE All-Share index added 0.1% to 3,653.

In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 gained 0.4% to 4,439 and the German Xetra Dax was 0.46% higher at 10,337.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1% to 18,432, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 2,173, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.1% higher at 5,162.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.4% to 16,635 and the broader Topix index slipped 0.1% to 1,321. And in China, the CSI 300 and the Shanghai Composite each fell 0.9% to 3,176 and 2,953 respectively.

Brent spot was trading at $43.54 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $41.51. Spot gold was trading at $1,349 an ounce, silver was at $20.52 and platinum was at $1,151.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.3236 and against the euro at 1.1851. The dollar was trading at 0.8953 against the euro and 102.42 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, newspaper group Trinity Mirror reported a big rise in profits for the last six months. Adjusted pre-tax profit for the 27 weeks to 3 July rose by 42.3% to £66.9m, up from £47m for the same period the previous year. Trinity Mirror bought local paper group Local World in October in a £220m deal which made it the country's largest regional news company.