BDEV jumps nearly 24 percent as US group raises stake

European equities markets saw gains Monday on positive quarterly reports and on last week’s declines in commodities prices.

In London, the FTSE 100 added 0.96 percent to 5,541.8 while the FTSE 250 gained 1.98 percent to 9,384.1.

The 250 gained on major gains in the house building sector after a US capital management group bought 1 million shares in Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV), raising its stake to just over 6 percent and giving Barratt a gain of 23.63 percent on the session, followed on the top of the 250 by Taylor Wimpy (LSE: TW) with a gain of 14.15 percent while Persimmon (LSE: PSN) was up 11.02 percent and Bovis Homes (LSE: BVS) gained 9.65 percent after Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) removed Bovis from its “conviction sell” list.

The gains for home builders as well as sale rumors helped construction materials group Wolseley (LSE: WOS) to the top of the 100 with a gain of 13.42 percent, while the retail and banking sectors also saw gains.

Most miners were lower in London, but Aquarius Platinum (LSE: AQP; ASX: AQP; JSE: AQP) added 1.5 percent after UBS (NYSE: UBS; SWX: UBSN; TYO: 8657) upped its recommendation on the miner from “neutral” to “buy”.

In the rest of Europe, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 1.16 percent to 1,212.92 while the Dax added 0.73 percent to 6,609.63, the CAC-40 was 1.04 percent higher to 4,538.49 and the IBEX gained 2.1 percent to 12,047.7.

Carmakers were up on recently lower oil prices and broker comments, while utilities and the steel sector saw declines on the session.

Most equities markets in the Asia Pacific region were higher Monday on less concern about inflation after recent drops in commodities prices and as miners were lower on the declines but the technology sector saw gains.

However, the Shanghai Composite dropped 5.21 percent to 2,470.07 after Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) said that limits imposed by the government on the mining sector, construction, manufacturing, and automobile usage in China, mostly in Beijing and nearby areas, to cut pollution during the Olympic Games will harm output in the short term.

The Shanghai index also declined ahead of new producer price inflation data, due to be released tomorrow, while the Hang Seng dropped 0.12 percent to 21,859.34.

Tokyo’s markets saw gains on a weaker yen that helped exporters.

The Nikkei 225 added 1.99 percent to 13,430.91 while the Topix index was up 1.59 percent to 1,280 and the Mothers market gained 0.95 percent to 476.26 in light trade.

Tiremakers were helped by declines in oil prices last week and by expectations that at least one manufacturer will raise prices soon, with Yokohama Rubber adding 3.3 percent, Toyo Tire & Rubber advancing 6.2 percent and Sumitomo Rubber gaining 6.4 percent.

The automobile manufacturing sector saw gains, while traders were lower on the session.

Among other gainers in the region, Australian markets were up despite declines in the mining sector after banks saw advances as the Sydney Ordinaries added 0.63 percent to 5,069.3 and the S&P/ASX200 gained 0.8 percent to 5,026.1.

The Straits Times Index was up 0.64 percent to 2,825.39, the Kospi was 0.79 percent higher to 1,581.09, the Taiex added 1.62 percent in Taiwan, and India’s Sensex gained 2.22 percent to 15,503.92.
In early afternoon trade on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.62 percent to 11,807.43 while the Nasdaq Composite had added 1.34 percent to 2,446.44 and the S&P500 had gained 0.88 percent to 1,307.79.

Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) were 7.9 percent lower and 1 percent lower respectively after a broker downgraded Fannie Mae and both mortgage lenders had their preferred stock and subordinated debt ratings cut.

Internet retailer Amazon.com (NAS: AMZN) was up 14 percent on projected sales of electronic-reading devices, while airlines saw gains on lower oil prices and most in the semiconductors sector were higher.

Story link: BDEV jumps nearly 24 percent as US group raises stake