Sensex opens with minor gains as Asian markets trade mixed, FTSE 100 ends flat

While financial services group Hargreaves Lansdown falls over 11 per cent

Oil prices rose slightly on Tuesday after slumping around 4 per cent earlier (PA Media)

India’s Sensex opened with modest gains on Tuesday amid mixed global cues from Asia and US peers, at 150 points higher, helped by banking stocks, while NSE Nifty 50 maintained a 16,300 level.

Asian markets are trading positively in Japan and Hong Kong as cheaper yen helped boost Nikkei listed companies and Hang Seng extended gains further. While concerns related to Delta variant and tech crackdown has kept Shanghai Composite in the red.

Oil prices rose slightly on Tuesday after slumping around 4 per cent as rising Covid-19 cases, particularly in China, prompted concerns over new curbs on activity which could hurt demand.

Stocks on Wall Street ended mixed on Monday after a session of record highs at the end of last week amid rising Covid-19 concerns and a fall in oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.3 per cent down, the S&P 500 recovered earlier losses in the session and closed flat, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite managed modest gains of 0.16 per cent.

London’s FTSE 100 ended flat again on Monday with negligible gains as weakness in energy majors following the drop in international oil prices weighs on the index. While some discussions of mergers and acquisitions saved the day.

The blue chip index ended 9 points, or 0.1 per cent higher, with gains in companies like SSE, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Flutter Entertainment. Midcap FTSE 250 also ended flat.

Financial services group Hargreaves Lansdown plummeted on weak earnings, falling over 11 per cent, the biggest drag on the index.