FTSE 100 hit by Covid fears as £44bn wiped off in global selloff, Asian stocks trade lower while Sensex loses 400 points

Travel-related stocks led losses both in the UK and the rest of Europe

London-listed share tumble as Covid fear spooks investors (PA)

Britain’s FTSE 100 took a major hit on Monday by falling to a two-month low and wiping off £44 billion from the markets due to a global selloff sparked by fears of a surge in Covid-19 cases and its impact on economic recovery.

The blue-chip index fell over a massive 164 points, or 2.3 per cent, to finish at 6844.4, its worst one-day drop since 11 May, and its lowest closing point since early April.

All sectors at the premier index closed in the red with travel-related stocks down 3.5 per cent, tumbling to their lowest level since December 2020 with rising fears of new travel curbs. Television network ITV and Rolls Royce were among the biggest losers on the index, sinking over 6.6 and 6.5 per cent each, with International Consolidated Airlines Group incurring a loss of 5.2 per cent.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 shed 2.3 per cent or 526 points to finish at 21,940, as England posted a spike in new cases and fears overshadowed the optimism from the lifting of restrictions. The midcap index also saw £9.6bn getting wiped off its value on the Freedom Day national holiday.

European stock markets also slumped with Covid fears as travel stocks lead the losses on major indexes. The pan-European Stoxx 600 tumbled by 2.3 per cent to its lowest close in two months, with Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC both down over 2.5 per cent.

Wall Street also incurred heavy losses on Monday as US stocks fell aggressively on the anxiety of rising Covid cases slowing global economic growth. All three major indexes witnessed a major selloff as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 852 points, or 2.4 per cent. The S&P 500 fell 1.9 per cent with energy and industrial sectors as the worst performers. The tech-dominated Nasdaq Composite fell 1.3 per cent its worst losing streak since October.

The US is averaging nearly 30,000 new cases a day in the last seven days ending Friday, up from a seven-day average of around 11,000 cases a day a month ago, according to CDC data. While the cases around the world are also seeing a spike.

On Tuesday, the depressing trends continued with Asian stocks as all major indexes tumbled and continued trading in red as growing fears the spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus harming the global economic recovery sent assets, including oil, falling sharply.

MSCI’s gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan fell as much as 1.4 per cent mid trade, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 down 0.5 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 hit a six-month low in early trade and widened the losses, to finally recover a bit and trade 0.7 per cent down around 1pm local time. The Hang Seng Index opened 0.3 per cent lower and slipped 1.1 per cent , while China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.4 per cent by 1 pm.

India’s Sensex also dropped over 400 points during the early trading hours, diving below 52,200 while Nifty gave up levels of 15,600.