Sensex at record high of 57,100 while Asian markets trade higher and FTSE 100 drops

FTSE 100 gained about 10.2 per cent this year but continues to lag behind European and US peers

FTSE 100 ends lower after the long weekend (AFP via Getty Images)

India’s Sensex and Nifty were off to a strong start on Wednesday as both indices touched record highs amid a rally in banking shares.

The Sensex opened at a new record high of 57,763, up 211 or 0.37 per cent, while the Nifty was at 17,185, up 53 points or 0.31 per cent.

Stock markets in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Wednesday as the spread of the Delta variant continued to worry investors while Wall Street ended August with gains. China, Japan and Hong Kong were higher, while Australia traded lower.

Wall Street’s main indexes hovered near record highs on Tuesday despite weakness in technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 37 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 35,437, the S&P 500 fell 0.25 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 4,528, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 18 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 15,247.

London’s FTSE 100 ended lower on Tuesday, mainly due to weakness in financials and commodity-linked stocks, although the blue-chip index posted its best month since April.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.4 per cent to its worst session in nearly two weeks, weighed by a 1.4 per cent drop in banks, while both energy and miners were down 1.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively.

The FTSE 100 has gained about 10.2 per cent so far this year but continues to lag its European and US peers as a resurgence in coronavirus cases across the world has sparked concerns of a slowdown in global economic growth.

Additional reporting by agencies