LLOY adds 9.1 percent to lead banks higher

With miners and banks higher, European equities markets saw gains Tuesday, making back part of Monday’s declines.

In London, the FTSE 100 added 4.34 percent to 3,926.14 while the FTSE 250 was up 2.4 percent to 6,373.89.

Banks were led higher by Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY) with a gain of 9.1 percent, while the only bank to decline was Barclays Bank (LSE: BARC; NYSE: BCS; TYO: 8642), which was the worst performers of only three losers on the 100 with a decline of 0.74 percent.

Marks & Spencer (LSE: MKS) led most retailers higher after it reported that sales were only down by 4.2 percent in the fourth quarter, a much better result than had been anticipated, adding 11.91 for the next-to-best gain on the 100, but department store operator Debenhams (LSE: DEB) led decliners on the 250 as it dropped 11.11 percent on a placement of shares for sale.

Most miners saw gains, led by Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ), which added 11.58 percent while Xstrata (LSE: XTA) was up 9.82 percent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 ended the session up 3.4 percent to 733.21, but despite seeing a gain in March, it dropped 11.9 percent in the first quarter.

The Dax was 2.39 percent higher to 4,084.76 while the IBEX added 2.81 percent to 7,815 and the CAC-40 gained 3.24 percent to 2,807.34.

There were no losers on the CAC-40 on the session, while manufacturer Saint Gobain (Euronext: SGO) led gainers on the index as it added 8.31 percent.

Over on the Dax, stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse (FWB: DB1) was up 9.35 percent for the best performance of the day, while the worst of only two decliners was Volkswagen (FWB: VOW), which dropped 2.2 percent.

Asian markets were mixed as markets in Tokyo and Australia declined but most others were higher on the session.

The Nikkei 225 was down 1.54 percent to 8,109.53 in Tokyo, while the Topix index fell 2.01 percent to 773.66 and the Mothers market dropped 0.65 percent to 306.45 as the fiscal year there ended with more concerns about the economy in general and the state of the financial sector in particular.

Banks, insurers, and the electronics sector all saw declines on the session ahead of the expected announcement of a new stimulus plan by Prime Minister Taro Aso.

Meanwhile, in Sydney, the S&P/ASX200 and the Sydney Ordinaries each dropped 0.62 percent, to 3,582.1 and 3,532.3 respectively.

The Taiex added 0.09 percent to 5,210.84 while the Shanghai Composite was up 0.64 percent to 2,373.21, the Kospi gained 0.73 percent to 1,2026.26, the Hang Seng was 0.89 percent higher to 13,576.02, the Sensex added 1.47 percent to 8,708.5 and the Straits Times Index gained 1.6 percent to 1,699.99.

New York equities markets were also higher in early afternoon trade, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.89 percent to 7,663.87 while the Nasdaq Composite had added 2.51 percent to 1,539.46 and the S&P 500 had gained 2.01 percent to 803.38.

Technology shares saw gains after Microsoft (NAS: MSFT) received a broker upgrade from “neutral” to “buy” on increasing demand in the US and China.

In afternoon trade, Microsoft was 6.38 percent higher.

Story link: LLOY adds 9.1 percent to lead banks higher