London’s FTSE 100 had a positive trading session on Tuesday after better-than-expected employment data raised hopes of an economic recovery. However, it was weighed down in the last session and closed as US markets opened.
The leading companies index closed just 1 point above at 7,034, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 rose 118 points or half a percent, to close at 22,332.
Shares were boosted by the UK unemployment rate which fell back to 4.8% between January and March – the three months of tight Covid-19 lockdown – showing it has remained broadly stable as hires increased further in April.
However, across the pond, US homebuilding data weighed on market sentiment as major indexes close and tech stocks were hit.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session 267 points, or 0.8% lower, at 34,060. The S&P 500 fell 0.9% to 4,128 and the high-tech Nasdaq Composite fell 0 , 6% at 13,303.
Positive results from companies like Walmart and Home Depot pushed those stocks higher, while big tech stocks like Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Alphabet all fell more than 1% on the day.
Asia-Pacific stocks also slipped in morning trading on Wednesday morning following signals from Wall Street, with some markets in the region closed for the holidays.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan opened in red and is trading around 400 points, down 1.4% around noon. Australia’s S & P / ASX 200 also fell 1.8 percent. The largest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside of Japan traded 0.3 percent lower. China’s Shanghai Composite also traded red, down 0.4%.
The Hong Kong and South Korean markets are closed on Wednesdays for the holidays.
Meanwhile, Indian indices also opened lower, dragged down by weak global indices of Asian and US peers, breaking a two-day streak of gains. Sensex lost over a hundred points but remained above 50,000 while the Nifty opened in red and traded above 15,058.
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Source: www.independent.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-05-19 04:53:03
