BAY leads travel-related shares higher

European equities markets saw gains Friday as airlines, retailers and carmakers all saw gains after crude oil prices resumed their declines.

In London, the FTSE 100 added 0.21 percent to 5,489.2 while the FTSE 250 gained 1.25 percent to 9,201.9.

Travel-related shares gained with the drop in oil prices, with British Airways (LSE: BAY; NYSE: BAB) leading the way on the 100 as it added 8.14 percent, while Thomas Cook (LSE: TCG.L) was up 7.72 percent and TUI Travel (LSE: TT) gained 7.71 percent.

The retail and real estate sectors were higher, while banks were mixed and miners declined on lower commodities prices, led on the 100 by Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ) with a decline of 6.45 percent.

Elsewhere in Europe, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.65 percent to 1,197.85 while the Dax was 0.28 percent higher to 6,561.65, the IBEX added 0.7 percent to 11,799.9 and the CAC-40 gained 0.77 percent to 4,491.85.

The aerospace sector was higher, led by EADS (Euronext: EAD; FWB: EAD) with a gain of 9.72 percent on the CAC-40, and in the airlines sector Air France-KLM (Euronext: AF; NYSE: AKH) added 5.45 percent and Lufthansa (FWB: LHA) was 2.65 percent higher.

Along with carmakers, insurers and the semiconductors sector also saw gains, but the steel sector, banks and utilities were all lower.

Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed Friday as many markets saw gains but markets in China saw big declines on the session.

The Shanghai Composite dropped 4.47 percent to 21,885.21 on worries about security threats during the Olympic Games, which are scheduled to begin with today’s opening ceremonies, and on investor disappointment that the Chinese government did not introduce any measures to help the markets before the games began.

Other decliners in the region included the Straits Times Index, down 0.96 percent to 2,807.54, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.99 percent to 21,885.21.

Tokyo’s markets were mixed as the Nikkei 225 added 0.33 percent to 13,168.41 and the Topix index gained 0.09 percent to 1,259.93 but the Mothers market of small and mid-caps dropped 0.71 per cent to 471.76.

Gains came in the automobile manufacturing sector as Toyota (TYO: 7203.T; NYSE: TM; LSE: TYT) added 5.5 percent after it kept to its annual profits outlook even though profits in the most recent quarter dropped by 27 percent.

Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest jumped 7.1 percent on a broker upgrade that predicted orders will rise, especially from South Korea, while shippers declined on a decline in fees and after UBS (NYSE: UBS; SWX: USBN; TYO: 8657) downgraded Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (TYO: 9104) and two other shippers from “buy” to “neutral” and shipbuilders were also down on the session.

Australia’s markets also saw gains, with the S&P/ASX200 up 0.06 percent to 4,986.2 and the Sydney Ordinaries gaining 0.15 percent to 5,037.6 while South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3 percent to 1,568.72, India’s Sensex was up 0.33 percent to 15,167.82 and the Taiex gained 2.63 percent to 7,209.04 in Taiwan.

Wall Street was higher at midday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 2 percent to 11,659.74 while the Nasdaq Composite was 1.97 percent higher to 2,402.21 and the S&P 500 gained 1.73 percent to 1,287.94.

Investment banks were up, led by Morgan Stanley‘s (NYSE: MS) gain of 2.3 percent, but mortgage lender Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) dropped 5.2 percent, more than three times the anticipated decline, after it reported a second quarter net loss of $2.3 billion.

Insurers saw gains, with American International Group (NYSE: AIG) adding 3 percent and Prudential Financial (NYSE: PRU) gaining 2 percent, while home improvement, discount and clothing retailers were all up at mid-session.

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