Sensex hits 55,000 mark while Asian stocks trade mixed, FTSE 100 declines

US blue chips end with modest gains after a fall triggered by a more-than-expected rise in US producer prices

File: UK’s gross domestic product grew by a stronger-than-expected 1 per cent in June but remains 2.2 per cent below its pre-pandemic level (Getty Images)

Indian indices hit fresh record highs with the Sensex crossing 55,000 for the first time after opening 200 points higher, while Nifty50 tops 16,400, opening 75 points higher. Data released on Thursday showed retail inflation in India eased to 5.59 per cent in July, against 6.26 per cent in June, mainly due to softening food prices. Industrial production grew 13.6 per cent.

Asian indices are trading mixed in the early hours of Friday amid weakness in global peers. Japan’s Nikkei is close to flatline after falling down in the early hours, while Hang Seng is 0.7 per cent down and Shanghai Composite 0.2 per cent down before noon.

US blue chips ended with modest gains after a fall triggered by a more-than-expected rise in US producer prices. Jobless claims, however, decreased. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended flat after trading in the red in most of the session before some recovery in the last hour, while S&P 500 managed to end 0.3 per cent higher. The Nasdaq Composite also ended 0.3 per cent higher as tech stocks recover after the previous session’s fall.

London’s FTSE 100 retreated below 7,200 on Thursday trading in the red throughout the session, despite upbeat economic data as weakness in the US markets opening pulled the index further down in the later hours.

The blue-chip index ended 27 points, or 0.4 per cent down at 7,193, much below the opening levels of 7,220 that was the highest point of the day for the index, and a little above the session low of 7,183.

The biggest drag on the index was Rio Tinto, which slipped over 5 per cent as it traded ex-dividend. Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell were also among the top fallers. Insurer Aviva rose 3.5 per cent and was the top gainer on the FTSE 100 after reporting a 17 per cent rise in the first-half operating profit.

The domestically focused mid-cap index ended flat on Thursday, followed by record highs in the previous sessions.

The UK gross domestic product grew by a stronger-than-expected 1 per cent in June but remains 2.2 per cent below its pre-pandemic level.

Meanwhile, European indices closed higher with STOXX 600 0.1 per cent, DAX 0.7 per cent, CAC 0.3 per cent up.