FTSE 100 falls deep in red as global sell off weighs, Asian stocks open lower while Sensex is 250 points down

Most leading indices end in red on Thursday while Asian stocks continue to trade under pressure

As US yields fall, stocks globally witness an intense selling off (Getty Images)

London’s FTSE 100 fell deep in the red on Thursday, reaching below 7,000 during the day’s lowest point, as selling off intensified in most leading global indices, with fears of economic recovery being stalled as Covid cases rise.

The UK’s blue-chip index recovered slightly from the day’s lows of 6,981 and ended at 7,030, around 1.7 per cent or 120 points down. Mining and financial stocks took the biggest hit, as the Intermediate capital group fell over 5 per cent.

Banking stocks like Lloyds, Barclays, and NatWest also remain weak amid the falling global yield, particularly in the US. Mining company Anglo American fell over 4 per cent.

The domestically focused FTSE 250 fell 1.4 per cent or 318 points as fear of rising Covid cases in the UK spooks investors.

Indices in the rest of Europe also remained lower on Thursday, as concerns around economic recovery weigh, posting their worst session in two months. The pan-European STOXX 600 index dropped 1.8 per cent, while Germany’s DAX fell 1.7 per cent and France’s CAC fell over 2 per cent.

Across the pond, the US stocks fell down from record highs, weighed by falling bond yields and similar worries of global economic recovery. The S&P 500 fell 0.9 per cent, with technology, financial and industrial companies taking some of the biggest losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7 per cent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 0.7 per cent.

On Friday morning, the Asia-Pacific stocks also mirrored concerns of overnight closing in global peers, while the release of Chinese inflation data continues to worry investors, as indices trade deep in the red. Japan’s Nikkei is over 500 points down at around 1 pm local time, while Shanghai Composite traded 0.7 per cent down.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng showed some recovery after dipping heavily in the early morning trade and is managing to stay in the green with gains of around 0.6 per cent by midday.

Indian indices also opened lower as global peers continue to trade under pressure. Sensex opened 250 points down while Nifty fell below the 15,700 level. Banking and financial stocks were the biggest drag.