FTSE 100 closes above 7,000 for first time in 14 months, Sensex crashes over 1,000 points

FTSE 100 has reached 40 per cent higher from the lows of March 2020

(SHAUN CURRY/AFP/Getty Images)

London’s FTSE 100 closed last week above 7,000, a landmark it reached for the first time in over a year since the pandemic hit.

The FTSE 250 has erased all its pandemic losses, hitting another record high on Friday.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index has now recovered up to 40 per cent from its lowest point of below 5,000, in March 2020.

The rally comes after positive data from the US and China, and amid hopes of the global recovery from the pandemic losses. Figures released on Friday showed the Chinese economy grew by a record 18.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2021 compared with the previous year.

Meanwhile, the US stocks continued their positive rally, with all three leading indexes closing in green, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average ending last week with new highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 164 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 34,200, the S&P 500 gained 15 points, or 0.36 per cent, at 4,185 and the Nasdaq Composite added 13.58 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 14,052.

Asian shares were mostly seeing a positive trading session on Monday, with the Nikkei 225 almost 100 points up after lunch, following a dip. South Korea’s Kospi is up by 6 points and the Shanghai composite is also seeing an upward trend, following the positive economic growth data.

Indian markets crashed on Monday, however, with the Nifty opening 2 per cent lower and the Sensex 1,000 points down, as the worries over the country’s rising coronavirus cases mount. India has been recording the world’s largest increase in daily Covid-19 cases, reporting a record of 261,500 cases on Sunday.

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