Dow Jones

The FTSE 100 index has ended the day down 18.4 points or 0.28% to 6,497.8, as the core measure of inflation increased to 3.1%, causing the Governor of the Bank of England to explain the rise in a letter to Gordon Brown.

Having made strong headway yesterday, stocks on the FTSE 100 index are this morning falling again, but are this time led by Experian Group, Hammerson and the mining giants.

The FTSE 100 has passed the 6,500 mark, ending the day up 53.8 points, or 0.83%, to 6,516.2, and pushing the index to a new six-and-a-half year high.

The FTSE 100 is up 30.4 points, or 0.47%, to 6,492.8 in early trading, as the banking sector pushes ahead on bid speculation.

The FTSE 100 has ended the session up 46 points, or 0.72%, to 6,462.4, as oil and drug stocks pushed the index higher.

The FTSE 100 is up 11.8 points, or 0.18%, to 6,428.2 in early trading, as oil stocks are off to a good start following a rise in the price of crude oil for May delivery.

The FTSE 100 has ended the session up 3.1 points, or 0.05%, to 6,416.4, as positive trading news offset losses by property companies.

The FTSE 100 is down 17.3 points, or 0.27%, to 6,396, in early trading as property companies continue to weigh on the index.

The FTSE 100 has ended the session down 4.5 points, or 0.07%, to 6,413.3, as losses on Wall Street pulled the index back from near six-year highs.

The FTSE 100 is slightly up in early trading with a rise of 1.5 points, or 0.02%, to 6,419.3, as bid speculation seems to be having little impact on investors.