Tokyo markets higher on banks

Tokyo equities markets were mixed on Monday, with the Nikkei 225 up 0.22 percent higher to 13,894.37 and the Topix index 1.63 percent higher to 1,361.75 but the Mothers market of small and mid-caps falling 1.6 percent to 601.38.

Banks were substantially higher on the possibility that the Bank of Japan will hike interest rates by the end of the year.

Automobile manufacturers and the electronics sector were higher, but the semiconductors and internet sectors and mobile phone operators all saw declines.

The rest of the Asia-Pacific region was mixed, with gains led by banks on the belief that the credit crisis has run its course and on a broker upgrade of the US banking sector.

Gainers in the region included Australian markets, where the Sydney Ordinaries added 0.2 percent to 5,670.3 and the S&P/ASX200 was up 0.28 percent to 5,602.7.

The Straits Times Index was 0.39 percent higher to 3,201.63 while the Hang Seng gained 0.59 percent to 25,666.29 and the Taiex jumped 1.47 percent to 9,079.6.

The Kospi index was down 0.08 percent to 1,823.17 in South Korea while the Sensex fell 0.64 percent to 17,015.96 in India and the Shanghai Composite dropped 2.33 percent to 3,474.72.

European markets were higher on the session, with the FTSE Eurofirst 300 adding 0.58 percent to 1,338.6 while the Dax was up 0.42 percent to 6,925.33 in Frankfurt, the CAC-40 was 0.69 percent higher to 5,012.75 in Paris and the IBEX gained 0.76 percent to 13,877.8 in Madrid.

Banks were higher on hopes that the worst of the subprime-related write downs are past, while the steel and aerospace sectors, utilities and insurers also saw gains.

The semiconductors sector was mixed while retailers, the software sector, stock exchange operators, and the pharmaceuticals sector all saw declines.

London’s markets were mixed, with the FTSE 100 down 0.02 percent to 6,090.4 and the FTSE 250 0.98 percent higher to 10,117.5.

Real estate developers were higher as banks, insurers and retailers were mostly higher while the oil sector was mixed and the software and pharmaceuticals sectors were lower after broker downgrades in both sectors.

New York equities markets were slightly higher in early afternoon trade as the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.13 percent to 12,908.47 while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.23 percent to 2,428.59 and the S&P 500 gained 0.15 percent to 1,399.92.

Most homebuilders wee up on the assumption that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates when it meets on Wednesday and despite the Census Bureau said that vacant homes in the US were at a record high in the first quarter.

Some carmakers gained on the news that billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian plans to raise his share in Ford (NYSE: F) to 5.6 percent, while the airlines sector saw declines after Continental (NYSE: CAL) said it is no longer interested in pursuing a deal with United (NAS: UAUA).

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