FTSE 100 soars after long weekend, Sensex loses 300 points

Shares in Asia are seeing mixed fortunes in morning trade

FTSE 100 surges on Tuesday after closing largely flat in last three sessions (AFP via Getty Images)

London’s FTSE 100 surged higher in the first trading session of the week on Tuesday, as mining stocks led the charge.

The blue chip index closed 57 points higher at 7,080, while the FTSE 250 closed 191 points higher at 22,874.

Indices on Wall Street had mixed finishes later, dragged by technology and healthcare stocks. The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1 per cent. Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged higher to rise 0.1 per cent.

On Wednesday, shares in the Asia-Pacific region were also seeing mixed trading in morning. While Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged over a hundred points higher, South Korea’s Kospi is hovering around the flatline. The Hang Seng index is 0.5 per cent down, while Shanghai composite is also 0.7 per cent down.

Meanwhile, Australian stocks advanced, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.9 per cent, after official data showed higher-than-expected growth in Australia’s economy for the first quarter. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 1.3 per cent higher.

Indian indices opened lower on Wednesday dragged by mixed global cues and losses among banking heavyweights. The Sensex was down over 300 points in the first trading hours, trading around 51,600, while the Nifty lost 70 points, trading at 15,500.