TALV biggest gainer among London-listed miners

European equities markets were higher Monday as most banks and the commodities sector were up on hopeful sentiment about the economy, and carmakers gained after General Motors (NYSE: GM) finally filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States.

In London, the FTSE 100 added 2 percent to 4,506.58 while the FTSE 250 was up 2.46 percent to 7.758.58.

Miner Xstrata (LSE: XTA) led winners on the 100 with a gain of 10.53 percent and 250-listed Talvivaara Mining Company (LSE: TALV) was the biggest gainer in the sector as it added 13.12 percent, while the only decliner in the sector was Randgold (LSE: RRS; NAS: GOLD), which dropped 1.16 percent.

The real estate sector also saw gains after Hometrack Ltd said that house prices in England and Wales were down by only 0.3 percent in April.

Property investor Liberty International (LSE: LII) was up 8.19 percent on the 100, while builder and developer Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV) was 9.15 percent higher.

Most banks were higher, led by Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY) with a gain of 6.62 percent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 2.8 percent to 886.27 while the IBEX was up 2.19 percent to 9,630.9, the CAC-40 gained 3.11 percent to 3,379.49 and the Dax was 4.08 percent higher to 5142.56.

Carmakers were higher after GM finally filed for bankruptcy protection following a long period of rumor and speculation, with Daimler (FWB: DAI, NYSE: DAI) turning in the best performance on the Dax as it added 8.41 percent while Peugeot (Euronext: UG) had the best day on the CAC-40 with a gain of 9.64 percent after Credit Suisse increased the carmaker’s target share price.

Elsewhere in the sector, Volkswagen (FWB: VOW) was up 7.59 percent, truck maker Man (FWB: EDF1) added 7.61 percent and Renault (Euronext: RNO) gained 9.11 percent.

Most banks were up, but BNP Paribas (Euronext: BNP; TYO: 8665) led decliners on the CAC-40 as it dropped 1.95 percent.

Markets were up in the Asia-Pacific region as well.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 and the Topix index each added 1.63 percent, to 9,677.75 and 912.52 respectively, while the Mothers market gained 0.67 percent to 396.7.

The Taiex was up 0.92 percent to 6,954.1 while the Kospi added 1.38 percent to 1,415.1 and the Sensex was 1.47 percent higher to 14,840.63.

In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries gained 1.96 percent to 3,887.9 while the S&P/ASX200 added 2 percent to 3,894.4.

The Straits Times Index was up 2.19 percent to 2,380.07, the Shanghai Composite added 3.36 percent to 2,721.28 and the Hang Seng gained 3.95 percent to 18,888.59.

In early afternoon trade the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 2.54 percent higher to 8,716.18 while the Nasdaq Composite had added 2.87 percent to 1,825.21 and the S&P 500 was up 2.63 percent to 943.28.

The Dow said it will drop General Motors from its 30-component index beginning next week, while it will also drop Citigroup (NYSE: C) and replace them with insurer Travelers Companies (NYSE: TRV) and computer networking corporation Cisco Systems (NAS: CSCO; SEHK: 4333).

Gains were helped by new data from the Commerce Department showing that construction spending was up by 0.8 percent in April against an expected decline, while a separate report from the Institute for Supply Management said that manufacturing activity in the US contracted less than had been anticipated in May.

Additionally, consumer spending was 0.1 percent lower, less of a reduction than expected, according to the Commerce Department.

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