World markets report

Banks and commodities again pushed the FTSE 100 higher yesterday, with the index rising 0.4% to close at 5,522.

RBS was again the day's highest climber, up 10.6%. Barclays added 6.3%, Lloyds 3.4% and HSBC 1.5%.

Mining and energy stocks made good gains, with Xstrata rising 2.2%, Rio Tinto up 2.1% and Anglo American adding 1.6%.

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

Defensives were among the day's biggest losers, as GSK lost 2.4% and Unilever was 2.2% lower.

Read the latest stock market news and charts here.

Europe

In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 fell one point to 4,013; and the German Xetra Dax was 16 points lower at 6,032.

US

In the US, stocks were mixed. The Dow Jones fell 0.1% to 10,572; but the S&P 500 was up 0.3% at 1,136; and the Nasdaq Composite rose just 0.01% to 2,308.

Asia

Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% to 10,731, while the broader Topix index added 1.3% to close at 931. In China, the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.9% to 3,254; and the CSI 300 closed down 0.6% at 3,541.

Commodities

Brent spot was trading at $80.46 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $81.68. Spot gold was trading at $1,125 an ounce, silver was at $17.97 and platinum was at $1,542

Currencies

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.6039 and against the euro at 1.1173. The dollar was trading at 0.6968 against the euro and 92.16 against the Japanese yen.

UK news

And today, consumer confidence fell the most in over a year in December, according to the Nationwide Building Society. Their monthly index fell from 74 in November to 69 in December, with only 34% expecting the economy to improve in the next six months. Nationwide's chief economist, Martin Gahbauer, said: "these lower expectations may foreshadow a more sluggish consumer outlook in 2010 as stimulus measures are withdrawn."