FTSE 100 inching close to 7,000 as FTSE 250 hits another record high, Sensex opens positive

US stocks rallied to more record highs while Asian markets open mixed but gain later in the day

FTSE 100 raises back to its February 2020 level (Getty Images)

London’s FTSE 100 is inching closer to a 7000 mark as it ends just 17 points away on Thursday, while FTSE 250 hits another record high, buoyed by economic recovery and reopening,

The strong session in the UK markets on Thursday took the blue-chip FTSE 100 to its highest level since the stock market crash of February 2020, reaching 6,983, up by 43 points or 0.63 per. While the domestically focused FTSE 250 also sustained its month-long momentum, closing 116 points higher to reach a record 22,472.

Shares of Oxford Biomedica -- which is a part of FTSE 250 -- rose to their highest level since mid-March after the Covid vaccine manufacturer announced it saw a total revenue leap of one-third in 2020 and has a revenue forecast of £50 million for this year. Mining giants like Antofagasta, Fresnillo and Polymetal continued to rise the second day.

Meanwhile, across the pond, the US stocks rallied to more record highs as strong corporate earnings and better than expected economic data surges the shares of wall street. The S&P 500 rose 1.1 per cent on Thursday and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.9 per cent, both reaching all-time highs. Nasdaq closed with the highest gains across indexes at 1.3 per cent.

On Thursday, Asian stocks again saw a mixed opening despite strong global cues as investors awaited the release of Chinese economic data, which turned out to be positive. Both Shanghai Composite, Hang Seng and Kospi saw a volatile trading session in the morning opening with minor gains. Japanese stocks opened higher and slipped in the early hours, however, they continued trading in green.

At noon, Mainland Chinese stocks were higher as the Shanghai composite gained 0.4 per cent after the report stating China’s economy surged 18.3% in the first quarter. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was also 0.4 per cent up. The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.2 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi was up by 0.7 per cent. Australian stocks slipped as the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.16 per cent.

Indian indices opened higher on Friday, following gains in global peers following positive data in the US and China, led by banking, metal and pharma stocks. The Sensex opened over a 100 points or 0.3 per cent up at 48,935, and Nifty 50 opened at 14,599 surging higher minutes later with a gain of almost 50 points.

On Wednesday, stocks at D-street ended higher after a volatile session with the Sensex ending 259 points higher at 48,803 and the Nifty rose 77 points to settle at 14,581.