Most markets in positive territory

Equities markets in Asia and the Pacific were up on Tuesday. In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries were 0.29 percent higher to 5,856.5. The Straits Times index in Singapore added 0.3 percent to 3,125.28, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained 0.47 percent to 19,356.9, and in India the Sensex was up 0.48 percent to 12,705.94. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.9 percent to 17,163.2, while the Topix index added 0.8 percent to 1,708.29. The Tokyo real estate sector was up as land prices in southern Tokyo were reported higher, while carmakers were helped by a weaker yen and construction materials companies gained on broker sentiment.

Most European equities markets were higher, the exception being the RTS in Moscow, which dropped 0.28 percent to 1,823.2. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.79 percent to 1,487.69. In Frankfurt, the Dax added 0.43 percent to 6,700.29, while the CAC 40 in Paris was 0.81 percent higher to 5,503.27. Aerospace and the automobile manufacturing sector were both higher on the session.

London’s markets were higher as well, with the FTSE 100 0.5 percent higher to 6,220.3 and the FTSE 250 up 0.18 percent to 11,459.3. The oil sector was lower, as were supermarkets. Insurers were mixed on the day, while hotels and banks were higher on bids rumors.

Wall Street was higher at midday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5 percent to 12,281.37, the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.7 percent to 2,410.48, and the S&P 500 was 0.6 percent higher to 1,410.18. Homebuilders were slightly higher on a more homes under construction in February even though permit applications for future construction were lower during the month. Banks were higher on bids news, and there were even some gains in the subprime mortgage sector.

Story link: Most markets in positive territory