FTSE 100 above 7,000 while rally in US stocks leaves Asia down; Sensex opens in the red

US markets surged on Friday with all three major indexes hitting record highs

London-listed share price gains Friday as the indexes close with weekly gains (PA)

London’s FTSE 100 advanced gains on Friday and crossed the 7,000 level, recovering from last week’s major fall with the help of consumer and mining stocks, while Vodafone surged after its quarterly earnings.

The blue-chip index finished up around 59 points, or 0.8 per cent higher, at 7,027, achieving minor weekly gains at 0.3 per cent. The index fell over 2 per cent earlier on Monday due to Covid fears that investors seem to have recovered from.

Intermediate Capital Group and Just Eat Takeaway were the top gainers on the index rising 2.6 per cent each. Mobile operator Vodafone jumped 2.4 per cent and was among the largest gainers on the FTSE 100 after it reported a better-than-expected 3.3 per cent rise in first-quarter service revenue.

Midcap FTSE 250 was also higher, up over 206 points, or 0.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, US markets surged on Friday with all three major indexes hitting record highs as tech stocks posted positive earning results, beating estimates. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite set an intraday record on Friday and closed at 14,836.99 for a gain of 1 per cent, now staring at record levels of 15,000.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 35,000 for the first time, up 0.7 per cent for the session at 25,061, while the S&P 500 Index rose to another intraday record high and closed at 4,412, for gains of 1 per cent on the day.

Twitter Inc gained 4.2 per cent after it reported quarterly revenue growth, while Snapchat-owner Snap Inc surged 22.5 per cent on beating estimates for user growth and revenue.

On Monday, Asian indexes fell heavily to a seven-month low as better than expected corporate earnings in the US sucked funds out of emerging markets and into Wall Street, while concerns related to a technology-sector crackdown in China grew.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 opened higher and continues to trade with a gain of over 1 per cent in the early hours, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng skidded almost 3 per cent. Shanghai Composite also fell down over 2 per cent by noon.

Indian equity markets also began the day’s trade in the red amid mixed global cues but soon rebounded to turn green. Sensex was up in the green, regaining the 53,000 mark, while the NSE index was nearing 15,900.