OML leads gainers on FTSE 100

European equities markets were up Thursday after interest rate cuts in the US, China and Taiwan and on encouraging earnings reports in the region.

In London the FTSE 100 added 1.16 percent to 4,291.65 while the FTSE 250 gained 3.92 percent to 6,223.78 as banks and miners saw gains and insurer Old Mutual (LSE: OML; JSE: OLOML) led the 100 with a gain of 18.11 percent.

Miners were up even though metals prices fell in afternoon trade in London, while Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDS A, RDS B; NYSE: RDS.A, RDS.B) and BP (LSE: BP; NYSE: BP; TYO: 5051) saw declines even though RDS reported that profits were up by 71 percent in the third quarter despite a decline in crude oil and natural gas production of 6.6 percent in the same period.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.24 percent to 899.25 while the CAC-40 added 0.15 percent to 3,407.82, the Dax was 1.26 percent higher to 4,869.2 and the IBEX gained 2 percent to 8,822.9.

In Germany, retailer Metro (FWB: MEO) was up 15.45 percent after it said its net income was up more than expected in the third quarter while the Dax was led by Commerzbank (FWB: CBK) with a gain of 22.73 percent.

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext: ALU; NYSE: ALU; TYO: 6687) led the CAC-40 with a gain of 20.05 percent while food processor Danone (Euronext: BN) had the worst day on the index as it dropped 5.82 percent.

Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were significantly higher Thursday after the US Federal Reserve and authorities in China and Taiwan cut interest rates Wednesday.

The biggest gain in the region came in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng added 12.82 percent to 14,329.85 as it gained over 1,600 points on the session, bringing the Hang Seng’s gains in three days to 30 percent, its biggest three-day gain since April 1973.

The gain came after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority followed the lead of China, Taiwan and the US and cut interest rates to 1.5 percent, a drop of half a percentage point.

All but two of the 42 stocks listed on the Hang Seng were up.

PetroChina (SEHK: 0857; SSE: 601857; NYSE: PTR) added 20 percent after it reported that its profits were up by 30 percent in the third quarter, while elsewhere in the oil sector CNOOC (SEHK: 0883; NYSE: CEO) gained 22 percent.

In Tokyo, meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 saw the 4th biggest one-day gain in its history as it added 9.96 percent to 9,029.76 to cap a three-day gain of 26 percent, the biggest jump in a three-day period in 38 years.

Additionally, the Topix index was up 8.32 percent to 899.37 and the Mothers market gained 5.48 percent to 294.78.

The gains in Tokyo came after the announcement that the prime minister there will announce new initiatives worth ¥5 trillion ($51 billion), and on a weaker yen which helped exporters such as carmakers and the electronics sector.

Elsewhere in the region the Shanghai Composite was up 2.55 percent to 1,763.61 while in Australia the Sydney Ordinaries added 3.98 percent to 3,957.3 and the S&P/ASX200 was 4.04 percent higher to 4,001.1.

The Taiex added 6.29 percent to 4,683.64, the Straits Times index was up 7.82 percent to 1,801.91 and the Kospi gained 11.95 percent to 1,084.72 while the Sensex was closed for the session.

At just past 2 p.m. in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.57 percent to 9,131.7 while the Nasdaq Composite had added 1.92 percent to 1,689.1 and the S&P 500 had gained 1.81 percent to 946.96.

The gains for Wall Street came on a Commerce Department report that the US gross domestic product only contracted by an annualized rate of 0.3 percent in the third quarter, less of a contraction than had been anticipated.

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