FTSE 100 closes in red despite surge in travel stocks, Sensex opens positive as Nifty trades above 15,700

Travel stocks capped losses as Biden-Johnson meet expected to include discussion on easing down US-UK travel

FTSE 100 closes in red after back to back positive sessions as mining stocks weigh (Getty Images)

London’s FTSE 100 closed in red on Wednesday as mining stocks slumped and uncertainties around UK opening up weighed on the index.

However, the index recovered from the day’s lows, helped by travel stocks, after reports of Joe Biden and Boris Johnson’s scheduled meeting on Thursday where the two leaders will possibly discuss easing of travelling restrictions between the UK and the US.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed 14 points or 0.2 per cent down at 7,081, while the domestically focused FTSE 250 closed 136 points or 0.6 per cent down at 22,758.

The US stocks on Wednesday gave up an early gain and turned lower in the last half-hour of trading on Wednesday, leaving major indices with modest losses. The S&P 500 fell 8 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 4,220, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 153 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 34,447, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 13 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 13,912.

Investors are now awaiting the the upcoming US CPI release; core CPI month-on-month consensus estimate is 0.5 per cent.

On Thursday, shares in Asia-Pacific opened positive but traded within a range in the initial hours, following the US peers. However, major indices are now edging higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was fractionally higher in the opening and traded 0.3 per cent above. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.4 per cent.

Hang Seng is trading 0.3 per cent up, while Shanghai Composite surged 0.8 per cent. Meanwhile, shares in Australia recovered, with the S&P/ASX 200 now trading 0.5 per cent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.5 per cent up.

Indian indices opened higher, tracking gains in Asian peers, as Metals and Pharma stocks gain. Sensex is trading 165 points or 0.3 per cent above at 52,106, while Nifty is 15,700.

Additional reporting from agencies