Pick of the early market news

Stock markets continued to inch up yesterday. The FTSE 100 however lost -4.71 points finishing Thursday at 5,940. Across the Channel, the French Cac 40 rose 0.44% to 3,580 while the German Dax rose a further 0.92% to 7,144.

In the US, the Dow Jones finished at 13,252 points, 0.44% higher. Overnight, Asian stocks traded mostly lower.