Insurers PRU, AV, OML gain in London

Most European equities markets were significantly higher Wednesday, with commodities-related shares, banks and insurers all higher.

The FTSE 100 added 7.14 percent to 4,343.54 in London while the FTSE 250 was up 5.09 percent to 5,989.11 on the session.

Among the biggest winners on the day in London were insurers, as Prudential (LSE: PRU; NYSE: PUK) added 18.93 percent, Aviva (LSE: AV) was up 25.1 percent and Old Mutual (LSE: OML; JSE: OLOML) gained 30.26 percent.

In other European markets, insurers also saw gains as Axa (Euronext: CS; NYSE: AXA) added 17.21 percent and Allianz (FWB: ALV; NYSE: AV) gained 26.24 percent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 6.85 percent to 891.48 while the CAC-40 added 9.23 percent to 3,402.57 and the IBEX gained 9.42 percent to 8,650.1.

On the other hand, the Dax dropped 0.31 percent to 4,808.69 even though the only loser on the index was Volkswagen (FWB: VOW), which fell 45.53 percent after Porsche (FWB: PAH3), up around 41 percent on the session, said it could settle as much as 5 percent of the 31.5 percent of VW stock options it holds in order to increase share supplies.

Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed Wednesday, with most higher.

Gains came on rumors of further efforts to rescue economies in the region as rumors spread that the Bank of Japan is ready to cut interest rates to 0.25 percent when it meets on Friday, as China was expected to take steps including a delay on the start of short-selling there to help insure market stability, and as Hong Kong was said to be considering banning short-selling.

In Tokyo the Nikkei 225 added 7.74 percent on the session to 8,211.9, bringing its gains to 14.6 percent in two days, while the Topix index was up 5.9 percent to 830.32 and the Mothers market of small and mid-caps gained 1.42 percent to 279.47.

The automobile manufacturing and electronics sectors saw gains on interest rate speculation and on a weaker yen, with gains coming even though the Finance Ministry issued a forecast that industrial production will drop b y more than 2 percent this month and in November.

In the electronics sector, Sony (TYO: 6758; NYSE: SNE) added 1.75 percent, but after the close of trade for the day is reported that its profits were down by 90 percent last quarter.

Among carmakers, Toyota (TYO: 7203; NYSE: TM; LSE: TYT) added 10.41 percent while Honda (TYO: 7267; NYSE: HMC) was up 18.4 percent even after a report that its quarterly profits fell by 41 percent on a strong yen and weak demand in the United States.

Elsewhere in the region the Taiex was up 0.15 percent to 4,406.52 while the Straits Times Index added 0.28 percent to 1,671.2, the Sensex gained 0.4 percent to 9,044.51 and the Hang Seng was 0.84 percent higher to 12,702.07.

In Australia the S&P/ASX200 and the Sydney Ordinaries each gained 1.34 percent, to 3,845.6 and 3,805.8 respectively.

Not all markets in the region saw gains, however, as the Shanghai Composite fell 2.94 percent to 1,719.81 and South Korea’s Kospi dropped 3.02 percent to 968.97.

Banks were up in much of the region but continued to decline in South Korea.

China’s oil producers saw gains as PetroChina (SEHK: 0857; SSE: 601857; NYSE: PTR) was 5.8 percent higher and CNOOC (SEHK: 0883; NYSE: CEO) added 11 percent after reporting that sales were up by 69 percent in the third quarter.

Before the Federal Reserve announced its decision to cut interest rates by half a percentage point to 1 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 were all up by between 1 and 2 percent in early afternoon trade, but by nearly 3 p.m. and after the Fed’s decision was handed down, the Dow was up just 0.26 percent to 9,088.77 while the S&P 500 was up 0.29 percent to 9.43.28 and only the Nasdaq remained up by more than 1 percent, gaining 1.12 percent over Tuesday’s close to 1,667.87.

Casinos were up even before the Fed’s decision and remained near earlier levels after the announcement after MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) said it has secured funding commitments for a new project in Las Vegas and remains in search of further commitments.

The gain of 33.69 percent for MGM came even though it had said earlier in the day that its profits were down by 67 percent in the third quarter.

Elsewhere among casino operators, Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NAS: WYNN) was up 30.96 percent while Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) was up 96.57 percent in afternoon trade.

Story link: Insurers PRU, AV, OML gain in London