FTSE 100 hits pre-pandemic levels, Asian markets move mixed as Sensex hits record high Business News

The UK’s FTSE 100 touched pre-coronavirus pandemic levels in February 2020 during Monday’s trading session, despite looming fears of a delay in opening announced later by the government.

The index was helped by the energy majors as oil companies tracked the rise in crude prices. The FTSE 100 blue chip closed 13 points or 0.2% higher, after hitting intraday levels of 7,188. Meanwhile, the domestically-focused FTSE 250 posted marginal gains and rose 10 points. .

Boris Johnson’s government announced a four-week extension in the hopes that one month will allow more people to get the vaccine and avoid another wave. The move could affect the hospitality industry in the near term, but investor sentiment remained elevated despite expectations of delay yesterday.

Across the pond, overall US stocks had a mixed close, but the S&P 500 hit a new all-time high, supported by gains from big tech companies, including Apple. The benchmark was lower for most of the day, but rose in the last 10 minutes of trading, ending with 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.7%.

Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region opened mixed on Tuesday, following US peers, except for Australian stocks which are trading with gains of around 1% throughout the session. The Nikkei 225 in Japan also gained around one percent. South Korea’s Kospi, however, in a volatile session plunged into intermediate trade and then recovered to gain around 0.1%.

Elsewhere, mainland Chinese stocks fell as the Shanghai composite fell nearly 1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.7%. The MSCI’s largest Asia-Pacific stock index outside of Japan traded up 2%.

Indian indices opened higher and were trading at record highs on Tuesday, boosted by gains in banking, financials, IT, metals and FMCG stocks despite cautious trading in global markets ahead of the results of a US policy meeting. Federal Reserve.