Gold today traded above $5000 an ounce for the first time after safe haven demand and a weaker dollar lifted the price by another 2%.
Meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.8% after the yen rallied on speculation over possible currency intervention.
On the corporate front, Ryanair has lifted its passenger traffic guidance for the current financial year.
FTSE 100 higher, gold miners maintain strong run
08:24 , Graeme EvansThe FTSE 100 index has risen 0.2% or 24.17 points to 10,167.61, with the shares of gold-focused Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo up by another 4%.
The Nikkei 225 closed 1.8% lower, with Toyota Motor down 4% as a surge in the yen on speculation over possible currency intervention impacted exporters.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: “Currency markets have moved centre stage as equity investors retreated after a bruising and volatile week which brought geopolitical concerns back to the top of the agenda.”
Reckitt Benckiser shares have fallen 2% or 120p to 5898p at the bottom of the FTSE 100, while Burberry is down 9.5p to 1186p.
Lloyds Banking Group, which is due to post annual results on Thursday, rose half a penny to 102.3p.
The perfect storm fuelling London’s housebuilding crisis
07:37 , Graeme EvansLabour has vowed to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029 — but with construction halted at dozens of sites across the capital, that target looks impossibly ambitious.
Latest figures from housebuilding analysts Molior London show work started on only 5547 private new homes last year. That is down 84% in a decade from the 33,782 which were begun in 2015.
Business editor Jonathan Prynn reports on the perfect storm fuelling London’s housebuilding crisis.
Ryanair lifts full-year passenger estimate
07:13 , Graeme EvansRyanair today bolstered its full-year outlook after third quarter results showed passenger growth of 6% to 47.5 million in the three month period.
The airline expects traffic for the year to grow 4% to almost 208 million passengers, up one million on its previous guidance due to strong demand and earlier than expected Boeing deliveries.
Fares are trending ahead of the prior year and will exceed the 7% annual growth previously guided by 1% or 2%.
At this stage, the airline continues to see an underlying pre-tax profit in a range of 2.13 billion euros to 2.23 billion euros (£1.85 billion-£1.94 billion).
The figure for the third quarter fell against tough comparatives, down 22% to 115 million euros (£99.8 million).
Gold tops $5000, Nikkei 225 down 1.8% after yen rise
07:01 , Graeme EvansGold today traded above $5000 an ounce for the first time after safe haven demand and a weaker dollar lifted the price by 2% in Asia dealing hours to $5105.
The pressure on the greenback left the dollar index at a four-month low, with sterling at $1.366 for its highest level since September.
European futures are pointing lower although the FTSE 100 index is seen slightly higher after closing 6.61 points lower on Friday.
The S&P 500 index ended slightly higher, while the Nasdaq Composite finished up 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood 0.6% lower.
The Federal Reserve concludes its next policy meeting on Wednesday, with a no-change decision on interest rates widely expected.
The Nikkei 225 fell 1.8% today after the yen rallied on speculation over possible currency intervention by Japan’s central bank in co-ordination with the New York Federal Reserve.
IG said: “New York Fed rate checks and signs of US-Japan coordination prompted investors to unwind short yen positions, lifting the currency around 3% from Friday’s lows.
“A stronger yen weighed on Japanese stocks, with the Nikkei down close to 2%, while US and European equity futures edged lower as risk appetite cooled.”
