World markets report

The FTSE 100 closed at its lowest in a month yesterday, shedding 1.3% to 5,037. Banks were generally lower after poor results from UBS and the details of restructuring at RBS and Lloyds were announced. RBS led the market down, losing 7%; HSBC was 3.3% lower and Barclays lost 2%. But Lloyds was the day's best performer, rising 2.7%.

Energy and mining stocks were also depressed, with Fresnillo, BHP Billiton, Xstrata and Rio Tinto all ending lower among miners, and BP, Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group all falling among energy stocks. Gold miner Randgold Resources, however, bucked the trend to rise 2.6%.

Retail stocks fared better, with Tesco up 0.5%, Sainsbury's adding 0.6%, Next 0.7% higher, and Marks & Spencer rising 0.4%.

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

Europe

In Europe, the Paris CAC fell 55 points to 3,584; and the German Xetra Dax was 77 points lower at 5,353.

US

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% to 9,771; the S&P 500 gained 0.2% to 1,045; and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.4% to 2,057.

Asia

Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.4% to 9,844; and the broader Topix index added 0.1% to 881. In China, the Shanghai Composite and the CSI 300 both gained 0.5% to 3,128 and 3,453 respectively.

Commodities

Brent spot was trading at $77.75 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $80.15. Spot gold was trading at $1,091 an ounce; silver was at $17.30 and platinum was at $1,360.

Currencies

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.65 and against the euro at 1.1173. The dollar was trading at 0.6775 against the euro and 90.69 against the Japanese yen.

UK news

And today, in a surprise announcement, General Motors (GM) has said it will not sell its European divisions after all. Opel and Vauxhall were to be sold to Canadian car parts firm Magna, but last night GM's board reversed their decision.

GM president Fritz Henderson said the U-turn came about because "the business environment in Europe has improved," adding: "GM's overall financial health and stability have improved significantly over the past few months, giving us the confidence that the European business can be successfully restructured."