Mixed day for retail in London as indices rise

London’s equities markets were up significantly on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 added 2.39 percent to 6,280.7, while the FTSE 250 gained 2.16 percent to 11,212.3. Banks, electronics engineers, and miners were among gainers on the session. Pest control groups were lower, while the retail sector was mixed.

European markets were higher on the session, more than making up Monday’s declines. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 1.71 percent to 1,507.29. The Dax was up 1.12 percent to 7,457.9 in Frankfurt, while the Paris CAC-40 gained 1.72 percent to 5,478.94 and Madrid’s IBEX was 1.74 percent higher to 13,965.5. The few decliners on the day were in the airlines, telecommunications, logistics, and pharmaceuticals sectors. The biggest gainers on the day included stock exchange operators and power generators and manufacturers. Other top gainers included the steel sector and automobile manufacturers.

New York equities markets were higher in early afternoon trade, helped by hopes of an interest rate cut and news that the trade deficit narrowed slightly in July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.89 percent to 13,244.91, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.86 percent to 2,581.05 and the S&P 500 gained 0.72 percent to 1,462.17. Most railroads gained on broker comments after a favorable judicial ruling. The pharmaceuticals sector and fast food operators were also higher on good news.

Asia-Pacific equities markets were mixed once again. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 4.51 percent lower to 5,113.97 and the Shenzhen Composite dropped 5.28 percent to 1,401.02 after new data showed inflation was at its highest in 10 years, which had investors worried about an increase in interest rates there. Other decliners included the Straits Times index in Singapore, which closed lower at 3,494.57. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.2 percent to 23,952.24, while the Sensex dropped 0.35 percent to 15,542.77. Gainers on the session included South Korea’s Kospi index, which added 0.63 percent to 1,847.36. In Australia the Sydney Ordinaries also gained 0.63 percent, to 6,248.6, while the S&P/ASX200 was 0.72 percent higher to 6,235.5. In Taiwan, the Taiex index was up 0.73 percent to 9,003.12.

Tokyo’s markets were mixed on the session. While the Nikkei 225 added 0.71 percent to 15,877.67 and the Topix index gained 0.47 percent to 1,532.39, the Mothers market of small and mid-caps fell 2.87 percent to 656.29. The real estate sector was higher after recent losses, while banks and computer game publishers also saw gains. Carmakers were lower on the session.

Story link: Mixed day for retail in London as indices rise