BP, RDS A and B shares gain as oil prices jump

Equities markets were mixed in Europe on Thursday as metals markets declined, taking miners lower, as UK retail sales were reported lower in September and as business confidence fell to its lowest level in nearly fifteen years in France.

The FTSE 100 added 1.16 percent to 4,087.83 but the FTSE 250 dropped 1.67 percent to 6,128.65.

The Office of National Statistics said that retail sales in the UK dropped 0.4 percent in September, not as much of a decline as had been expected, as food sales rose but sales of clothing and household goods fell.

The oil sector saw gains after oil prices recovered as Iran called for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut production quotas by 2 million barrels per day after Saudi Arabia’s oil minister declined to support any production cuts at all, which had sent crude prices lower.

BP (LSE: BP; NYSE: BP; TYO: 5051) was up 5.03 percent, while Royal Dutch Shell’s (LSE: RDS A, RDS B; NYSE: RDS.A, RDS.B) A shares added 5.22 percent and B shares gained 5.22 percent, all on the 100.

Miners and insurers made up all five biggest losers on the 100, led by gold and silver miner Fresnillo (LSE: FRES) with a decline of 15.81 percent.

Not all miners were lower, as Gem Diamonds (LSE: GEMD) added 18.58 percent on the 250.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.14 percent to 872.72 while the Dax fell 1.12 percent to 4,519.7 and the IBEX dropped 2.05 percent to 8,811.2 but the CAC-40 added 0.38 percent to 3,310.87.

The biggest loser on the CAC-40 was Air France-KLM (Euronext: AF; NYSE: AKH), which dropped 12.82 percent, while cars and insurers were down on both the Paris index and the Dax.

Utilities saw gains in France and Germany, while stock exchange operators and medical-related shares gained in Germany and telecoms, food processors and some retailers saw gains on the CAC-40.

Asian markets were lower, some steeply as the Hang Seng fell below the 14,000 level for the first time in three years and South Korea’s Kospi declined by more than 7 percent on the session.

Markets declined on worries about the faltering global economy as Belarus became the latest nation to ask for aid from the International Monetary Fund, following in the steps of the Ukraine, Iceland, Hungary and Pakistan, although Pakistan has denied IMF statements that it has formally asked for help.

In addition, Argentina seems to be in danger of default after proposing that it seize pension funds worth $29 billion to gain ready cash.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was 2.46 percent lower to 8,460.98 after falling by 7.6 percent in earlier trade, regaining some of the losses after the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said that it might enact a $40 billion program to induce banks to alter terms of home loans to prevent some foreclosures in the US.

At the same time, the Topix index was down 1.97 percent to 871.7 and the Mothers market of small and mid-caps dropped 3.72 percent to 311.21.

The declines came after the Japanese Finance Ministry reported that exports were up by only 1.5 percent in September, against expectations that they would be up by 5.2 percent.

Exports to the US dropped by 10.9 percent from the same month last year, the 13th month in a row of declines in exports to the states, while exports to the European Union dropped 9 percent during the month and sales to other Asian nations were up, but only by 2.9 percent.

The oil sector was lower in Tokyo, while exporters fell on the Finance Ministry’s new data and on a stronger yen, but utilities were up on their status as recession-proof stocks.

Elsewhere in the region, the Shanghai Composite was down 1.07 percent to 1,875.56 while the Taiex fell 2.72 percent to 1,049.71, the Hang Seng was 3.55 percent lower to 13,760.49, the Sensex dropped 3.92 percent to 9,771.7 and the Straits Times Index was down 4.14 percent to 1,745.67.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 was 4.37 percent lower to 3,974.4 and the Sydney Ordinaries fell 4.39 percent to 3,939.3 while in South Korea the Kospi plummeted 7.48 percent to 1,049.71.

Banks and commodities-related shares dropped across the region.

At just past 3 p.m. in New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.34 percent to 8,404.76 while the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.23 percent to 1,563.51 and the S&P 500 had dropped 2.26 percent to 876.52.

According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, home prices in the US were down 4.9 percent in August from August 2007.

That, and a report of a quarterly loss for homebuilder Pulte (NYSE: PHM) send that sector lower, with Pulte dropping 22.51 percent in afternoon trade.

Online retailer Amazon (NAS: AMZN) dropped 3.36 percent after it projected that holiday sales would be weak this year.

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