• FTSE 100 down 0.2% to 6,792
• Gold up 0.19% to $1,235.59/oz
• GBP/USD – 1.6277
This morning in the global markets, the pound was trading against the US dollar at 1.6311 and against the euro at 1.2585.
The dollar was trading at 0.7715 against the euro and 107.27 against the Japanese yen.
And in the UK, JD Sports reported a record profit for the first half of the year. Pre-tax profit for the 26 weeks to 2 August rose by 170% to £16.45m, up from £6.09m for the same period in the previous year.
The FTSE 100 continued its fall yesterday, closing down 0.2% at 6,792. Retailer Sports Direct was the day’s biggest faller, down 3.8%. And brewer SABMiller gave up some of the previous day’s gains with a 2.1% fall.
In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 fell 19 points to 4,409, and the German Xetra Dax lost 28 points to 9,632.
In the US on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to 17,131, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite each added 0.8% to 1,998 and 4,552 respectively.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1% to 15,888, and the broader Topix index fell 0.5% to 1,304. And in China, the Shanghai Composite and the CSI 300 each rose 0.5% to2,307 and 2,401 respectively.
Brent spot was trading at $98.76 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $94.62. Spot gold was trading at $1,236 an ounce, silver was at $18.63 and platinum was at $1,363.
