LLOY leads banks higher in London

Equities markets were higher in Europe and in most of the Asia-Pacific region Tuesday as banks responded positively to positive sentiment about US quarterly results in the sector, with European banks up after Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) released its report a day early, saying that it made more money than expected in the first quarter.

In London, the FTSE 100 added 0.13 percent to 3,988.99 while the FTSE 250 was up 2.48 percent to 7,152.16.

Banks were led higher in London by Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY), which added 10.57 percent, while miners made gains on higher metals prices as Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED) was up 15.4 percent for the best performance on the 100 and over on the 250 iron ore miner Ferrexpo (LSE: FXPO) led all miners as it gained 16.67 percent.

Food manufacturer Premier Foods (LSE: PFD) turned in the worst performance of the session on the 250, dropping 5.76 percent while British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS) fell the most on the 100 as it declined 4.78 percent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 1.49 percent to 789.95 while the CAC-40 added 0.88 percent to 3,000.22, the Dax was 1.47 percent higher to 4,557.01 and the IBEX gained 1.49 percent to 8,834.8.

Banks were the top gainers on both the CAC-40 and the Dax as Credit Agricole (Euronext: ACA) added 9.03 percent and Commerzbank (FWB: CBK) was up 12.95 percent.

Elsewhere in the banking sector, BNP Paribas (Euronext: BNP; TYO: 8665) was 8.93 percent higher and Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) gained 4.8 percent.

Carmakers were mixed on concerns that US automobile manufacturer General Motors (NYSE: GM) might be getting ready to file for bankruptcy.

Peugeot (Euronext: UG) was up 4.05 percent and truck maker Man (FWB: EDF1) added 4.03 percent on the session, but BMW (FWB: BMW) was down 1.06 percent and Renault (Euronext: RNO) dropped 1.59 percent.

Tokyo was the only major decliner among Asia-Pacific region equities markets, largely on declines among carmakers on concerns after the New York Times reported over the weekend that the US Treasury Department has told GM to make preparations for a bankruptcy filing in the event it cannot come up with a restructuring plan by the deadline set by the Obama Administration.

The Nikkei 225 was down 0.92 percent to 8,842.68 while the Topix index fell 0.65 percent to 843.42 and the Mothers market dropped 0.42 percent to 314.45.

Nissan Motor (TYO: 7201) was down 6.1 percent while Honda Motor (TYO: 7267; NYSE: HMC) dropped 3 percent and Toyota Motor (TYO: 7203; NYSE: TM; LSE: TYT) was 3.6 percent lower.

Some banks made gains, or at least didn’t lose ground, as Mizuho Financial (TYO: 8411; NYSE: MFG) held steady after gains earlier in the day, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (TYO: 8316) was up 0.7 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ (TYO: 8306; NYSE: MTU) gained 1.1 percent.

Elsewhere in the region the Kospi was up 0.33 percent to 1,342.63, the Shanghai Composite added 0.54 percent to 2,527.18, the Taiex was 0.6 percent higher to 5,892.68, the Straits Times Index gained 1.08 percent to 1,897.02, and the Sensex was up 1.51 percent to 10,967.22.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 was 2.21 percent higher to 3,752.9 and the Sydney Ordinaries added 2.22 percent to 3,697.9, while the Hang Seng gained 4.55 percent to 15,580.16 in Hong Kong.

New York equities markets were in negative territory in afternoon trade as the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.69 percent to 7,921.45 while the Nasdaq Composite was 1.85 percent lower to 1,622.72 and the S&P 500 had dropped 1.93 percent to 842.15

Declines came on a report from the Commerce Department that US retail sales were down 1.1 percent in March and after the Labor Department said that wholesales prices in the US dropped 1.2 percent in March.

Most banks were lower despite the positive quarterly report from Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and last week’s positive results from Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) after GS also began a common stock offering worth $5, meant to help repay bailout money it has received from the US government.

Goldman Sachs was down 9.93 percent in afternoon trade and Wells Fargo had dropped 6.56 percent, but Citigroup had managed a gain of 3.16 percent.

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