FTSE 100 edges higher despite inflation fears, Sensex drops tracking global markets after Fed meet

Asian markets opened lower following the negative closing of the US markets

FTSE 100 has had a three positive trading sessions (AFP via Getty Images)

London's FTSE 100 edged higher with gains in industrial and defensive stocks, though news of soaring UK inflation trimmed profits.

The blue-chip index ended 12 points or 0.2 per cent higher at 7,184, while the domestically focused FTSE 250 ended 14 points down.

Stocks fell on Wall Street on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve brought forward its timeline for rate hikes a year to 2023 as a response to rising inflation. The S&P 500 fell 0.5 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8 per cent and the Nasdaq lost 0.2 per cent.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday began closing the door on its pandemic-driven monetary policy as officials projected an accelerated timetable for interest rate increases, opened talks on how to end crisis-era bond-buying, and said the 15-month-old health emergency was no longer a core constraint on US commerce.

Asian markets dipped on Thursday following their US peers. Nikkei 225 was 1 per cent down, Shanghai Composite traded with marginal gains and Hang Seng was 0.2 per cent up.

Indian indices also traded lower on Thursday, tracking losses in global peers following the Fed decision, with Sensex over 140 points down and the Nifty trading 0.3 per cent down.

Additional reporting by agencies