Book, music retailer HMV sees declines

Most European equities markets saw gains Wednesday as commodities prices rose and after the United States reported that durable goods orders there were up in July, with advances coming after early declines on continuing worries about more losses for banks.

In London, the FTSE 100 added 1.05 percent to 5,528.1 while the FTSE 250 gained a bare 0.04 percent to 9,137.1.

House builders and retailers slowed the 250 as music and book retailer HMV Group (LSE: HMV) led declines there with a drop of 7.66 percent, followed closely by house builder Taylor Wimpey (LSE: TW), which fell 7.2 percent on first-half losses.

Real estate developers also saw declines, with Liberty International (LSE: LII) down 2.66 percent as British Land (LSE: BLND) dropped 2.95 percent.

The energy sector led both the 100 and the 250, as Petrofac (LSE: PFC) added 6.24 percent on the 100 and Hardy Oil & Gas (LSE: HDY) jumped 10.29 percent on the 250, while most miners also saw gains.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.22 percent to 1,173.63 as the CAC-40 added 0.1 percent to 4,373.08 and the IBEX gained 0.52 percent to 11,479.6 but the Dax dropped 0.31 percent to 6,321.03 in Frankfurt.

The banking sector was mixed, with Natixis (Euronext: KN) down 4.9 percent on the possibility that it could offer a 30 to 40 percent discount on new shares in an upcoming rights offer.

Airlines were also lower, with Air France-KLM (Euronext: AF; NYSE: AKH) leading decliners on the CAC-40 as it dropped 3.17 percent.

Carmakers, insurers, and the semiconductors sector were also lower, but utilities, telecommunications groups and the oil and steel sectors were all higher.

Asia-Pacific region equities markets were mixed Wednesday, with more gainers than decliners after quarterly reports came in with good news in several sectors.

Tokyo’s markets were mixed, with the Nikkei 225 down 0.2 percent to 12,752.96 as the Topix index fell 0.46 percent to 1,223.69 but the Mothers market of small and mid-caps added 2.94 percent to 459.55.

Property developers were lower after Sohken Homes (TYO: 8911) filed for bankruptcy and its shares dropped 12 percent on the session.

Mitsubishi Estate (TYO: 8802) was down 2.1 percent while Sumotomo Realty and Development (TYO: 8830) dropped 2.9 percent.

Bankruptcies in Japan doubled in July from last year in the same month.

Automobile manufacturers also saw declines after Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) cut its target share price on Nissan Motor (TYO: 7201; NAS: NSANY), with Nissan’s shares dropping 4.7 percent while Toyota (TYO: 7203; NYSE: TM; LSE: TYT) fell 2.7 percent and Honda (TYO: 7267; NYSE: HMC) was down 2.2 percent.

The pharmaceuticals sector and paper makers saw gains.

Elsewhere in the region, Australian equities markets saw gains as the S&P/ASX200 added 0.07 percent to 5,011.2 and the Sydney Ordinaries gained 0.11 percent to 5,087.8 as Woodside Petroleum (ASX: WPL) jumped 3.4 percent on a gain in profits in the first half of the year.

The Kospi was up 0.25 percent to 1,493.92 in South Korea, while Taiwan’s Taiex was 1.67 percent higher to 7,080.97 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.94 percent to 21,464.72.

Trading in Hong Kong, China Mobile (SEHK: 0941; NYSE: CHL) added 3.5 percent on second-quarter earnings that were reported up 51 percent, while shipper China COSCO Holdings (SEHK: 1919; SSE: 601919) added 8.2 percent on a positive earnings report.

Besides the declines in Tokyo, the Straits Times Index fell 0.08 percent to 2,705.09 in Singapore while the Shanghai Composite was down 0.34 percent to 2,342.15 and India’s Sensex dropped 1.28 percent to 14,296.79.

New York equities markets were higher in early afternoon trade as the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.92 percent to 11,517.9, the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.13 percent to 2,388.57 and the S&P 500 gained 0.82 percent to 1,281.88.

Gains came on durable goods orders that were up 1.3 percent in July from June’s levels, much more of a gain than had been anticipated.

Advances in crude oil prices helped the energy sector, but hurt airlines as Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) down 7.12 percent and UAL (NAS: UAUA) dropped 9.33 percent.

Book retailer Borders (NYSE: BGP) added 22 percent on better results than expected in the second quarter, while Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) added 13 percent and 14 percent respectively on further speculation that the mortgage lenders will not need a bailout from the US government.

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